Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
195 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Kilauea Lighthouse Lower ParkingWebsite ↗
Kilauea School · Photo: Joel Bradshaw · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Kilauea
Kilauea has 5.6 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (1.6 mi). 7% of Kilauea’s land is conserved, about 224 acres. 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #48 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
224 acres · of 5.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
35 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Kilauea?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kilauea have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kilauea is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #48 of 93 in Hawaii. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kilauea’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (35 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home49% of residents within a half mile of a park · HI 83% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 49%
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Kilauea’s 7% is ahead of 34% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% of them.
Water is 6% of Kilauea’s area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, with 1.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
224 conserved acres
7% of Kilauea’s land. Water is left out: Kilauea has 5.0 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Kilauea’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service355 ac
County22 ac
Other state land22 ac
State Department of Land4 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 355 acState Park · 19 acLocal Other or Unknown · 18 acLocal Park · 8 acState Resource Management Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 355 | Restricted |
| Kauapea Beach State Park | Other state land | 19 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 18 | Unknown |
| Kilauea Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| State Department of Land State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 4 | Open |
| Kahili Beach Park Local Park | Other state land | 3 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Kilauea
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Kilauea
2 waterfalls without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Kilauea
Birds WatchingIn Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsPeaks in Kilauea
Crater HillIn Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsPicnic areas in Kilauea
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.1 mi
Enchanted Forrest0.3 mi
Secret Beach Trail0.1 mi
Old Kuhio Highway0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point LighthouseDistrict · listed 1979
About itKilauea SchoolBuilding · listed 1983
About itKong Lung StoreBuilding · listed 1993
About itKilauea Plantation Head Bookkeeper's HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itKilauea Plantation Head Luna's HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itKilauea Plantation Manager's HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Kilauea: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.9 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.0 | 10.8 |
| High (°F) | 77 | 77 | 76 | 78 | 80 | 82 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 83 | 80 | 78 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 5.3 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 6.5 |
June is the driest month (3.7 in) and September the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 7.5 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Kilauea →
Next door
Kilauea and its neighbors
Kilauea has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilauea | 7% | 1.1 | 11 | 49% | B+ |
| Kalihiwai | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kilauea
Where can I hike in Kilauea?
The longest trail networks: Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, 1.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kilauea is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 14% for a Hawaii town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Kilauea’s trails?
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Kilauea?
6,425 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kilauea or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 39 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kilauea have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #48 of 93 in Hawaii. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Kilauea neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →