The Big Island of Hawaii is home to the island chain’s two largest peaks; Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Both tower above 13,000 feet. They’re cool.

What’s hot is Hawaii’s active volcano, Kilauea. We’re not talking 90-degrees and Kona winds. It’s worse than West Texas. Almost…

How can it be hotter than West Texas? It’s actually, in places anyway, hotter than Death Valley. Hotter than the blazes of damnation. Hotter than Laetitia Casta on a cool day.

Really hot.

Kilauea Volcano is HOT. It’s a live, flowing lava, hot, volcano. Crater Rim Drive is just the start. This road encircles Kilauea’s oval caldera. The crater is about 2 and a half miles across, and around 300 feet deep.

“All around the Crater Rim Drive you’ll see lush rain forests, vegetation galore, animals, birds.”Below the lava encrusted surface is hot lava. All around the Crater Rim Drive you’ll see lush rain forests, vegetation galore, animals, birds. And steaming craters and vast areas of lava devastation.

I said it was hot.

As you leave on your drive (please drive, don’t walk—it’s hot) from the Kilauea Visitor Center you’ll pass by the Volcano House and the Volcano Art Center. The first lookout is appropriately named Kilauea Overlook. But it’s not the best view. That is to come.

The Jagger Museum (bring your camera) and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are next and just down the road.

“This eruption was so strong that it shaped many of the park’s features, still visible today.”The real fun begins at Halemaumau Crater where you can park your car and walk a few hundred yards to the crater’s edge. It’s hot. You’ll see steam billowing from the lava rocks as you trek to the edge. On some days the authorities will close the area because fumes become so intense.

I said it was hot.

Kilauea has been spewing lava since eruptions began (again) in 1983. At Keanakakoi, the next crater down the road, 200 foot mountains of fire shot through the air when the lava covered Chain of Crater’s Road.

The last stop around Crater Rim Drive is the Kilauea Iki Overlook. The eruption here in 1959 filled the crater with a lava alke. Fire fountains shot hundreds of feet in the air. This eruption was so strong that it shaped many of the park’s features, still visible today.

Pros: Stunning views of a live volcano, easy access, low cost.

Cons: Hot, dry.

Want to know the best places to eat in Hawaii? Click over to Ono Dining for totally biased reviews on Hawai's best (and not so best) restaurants.

I can't wait to visit the volcano park, it's definitely the next on my list!