Kīlauea Visitor Center Will Close for Renovation in February for Two Years

But a temporary center at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park will offer visitor and retail services during the closure.
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The Kīlauea Visitor Center will close for extensive renovations in February 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the National Park Service/Jessica Ferracane

Planning a trip to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park next year?

The Kīlauea Visitor Center, which is often the first stop for visitors to the national park on Hawaiʻi Island, will be closed starting Feb. 17, 2025 for extensive renovations.

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What the renovated Kīlauea Visitor will look like with the restrooms on the west end removed and replaced by an outdoor hālau (pavilion).
Rendering courtesy of the National Park Service.

The KVC renovations include:

  • The addition of a covered hālau (pavilion) on the west end of the building
  • New and improved restrooms relocated to the east end of the building
  • Full accessibility
  • Converting offices to expand visitor space
  • More space for the Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association store
  • New bilingual exhibits in English and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi  

Right now, KVC is the only visitor center in park and is too small and outdated to serve the 1.5 million people who visit each year. Jaggar Museum was removed earlier this year due to damage it received during the 2018 eruption and summit collapse of Kīlauea.

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NPS artistic rendering of the outdoor hālau (pavilion) planned on the west end of the Kīlauea Visitor Center in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Rendering courtesy of the National Park Service.

A temporary welcome center at Kīlauea Military Camp’s accessible Koa Room, just 1.2 miles west of the park entrance, will provide visitor services, including providing the latest information on current conditions, hiking information, things to do and the daily schedule of ranger-led activities. There will be a small shop, too.

While some ranger programs will continue, visitors are urged to plan ahead, come prepared and expect limited services. The park film and programs like After Dark in the Park and Nā Leo Manu are suspended until KVC reopens.

Construction closures and delays are regularly updated here.
Categories: Hawai‘i Island, News