Active Kīlauea forces 'immediate' trail closures at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Name: 54th eruption of Mount Kilauea Volcano
Uploaded: 2026-08-25T19:11:56-04:00
Duration: 1 min
Description: The 54th eruption of Mount Kilauea Volcano is underway as it continues its active summer.

FILE: 54th eruption of Mount Kilauea Volcano

The 54th eruption of Mount Kilauea Volcano is underway as it continues its active summer.

HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii – Officials in Hawaii have closed hiking trails due to the Aloha State's active volcano.

The National Park Service (NPS) announced on Wednesday that Halema'uma'u Trail and parts of Byron Ledge Trail are temporarily closed due to increased seismic activity at the summit of the Big Island's Kīlauea volcano.

"The trail closure is a total of 1.3 miles," NPS said. "Viewing areas on the Keanakākoʻi side of the caldera closed for safety last week."

SCIENTISTS CAN NO LONGER PREDICT WHEN KILAUEA WILL ERUPT DUE TO RECENT VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a volcanic activity notice earlier this week for the Kīlauea volcano at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, reporting renewed spattering at two vents following recent activity beneath the summit.

The USGS released a statement on Thursday saying, in part, "In the past 24 hours, there were 6 shallow earthquakes located across the summit region of Kīlauea."

NEARLY 100 EARTHQUAKES SHAKE KĪLAUEA AS VOLCANIC UNREST PROMPTS PARK CLOSURE

Kīlauea remained at an ORANGE aviation color code, the second-highest level on the USGS' four-tier scale, as of Thursday.

Over the past week, the summit of Kīlauea felt more than 200 earthquakes, according to the NPS and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said while lava flows that erupted from the north and south vents in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea on the night of Sept. 30, magma was also making a new path below the surface of the caldera.

The largest new crack observed on the northern part of Kīlauea caldera floor during a field visit on October 6, 2026, was measured at 15 cm (6 inches) wide. The sharp edge of the tephra deposit above the crack, as well as delicate suspended roots that were pulled apart in the crack, help indicate that this is a new crack and not an older, existing one (USGS photo by M. Patrick.)

Another view of the new ground cracks in the north part of Kaluapele, Kīlauea summit caldera, cutting through the recent tephra deposits on the caldera floor. New cracks were up to about 6 inches (15 cm) wide. The active vents of the ongoing eruption are visible in the upper right portion of the photo. (USGS photo by M. Patrick.)

Some of the new cracks that formed on Kīlauea caldera floor between September 30-October 1 were steaming and warm (about 60 dg Celsius, or 140 dg Fahrenheit) when they were measured by this thermal camera on October 6. This area has been covered in warm, steaming cracks for decades, however, and there was no sign of magmatic gas associated with the recent intrusive activity. (USGS photo by M. Patrick)

CENTURIES-OLD LAVA ROCK ARCH IN HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK COLLAPSES INTO OCEAN FOLLOWING HURRICANE NOLO

This caused the recent swarm of earthquakes to open up in the northwestern part of Kaluapele, Kilauea's summit caldera.

Scientists said they cannot forecast when — or if — the volcano's 55th episode of lava fountaining will occur.

"The opening of six vents on and below the northwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu on September 14 to 16 suggests that magma is able to intrude into pre-existing weak, fractured areas along the northern and western boundaries of Halemaʻumaʻu without having to create new space," the USGS said.

This is a developing story. Stay with FOX Weather for more.