Entering this park, located beneath a tight-knit canopy of (invasive) albizia trees is an otherworldly experience. A short, easy loop trail passes through a tropical vision of Middle Earth, full of ferns, orchids and bamboo, and takes you past unusual ‘lava trees,’ which were created in 1790 when a rainforest was engulfed in pahoehoe from Kilauea’s East Rift Zone. The lava enveloped the moisture-laden ohia trees and then receded, leaving lava molds of the destroyed trees.
These mossy shells now lie scattered like dinosaur bones, adding to the park’s ghostly aura. In the late afternoon the love songs of coqui frogs reverberate among the trees.
To get here follow Hwy 132 about 2.5 miles east of Hwy 130.
