Hawaii tri-park pass is the Hawaii national park pass for Maui and the Big Island! + COST of entry fees 🌋 Maui + Big Island

ALOHA!

So if you’re a frequent U.S. national park visitor, you might already have an annual national park pass aka the America the beautiful pass.

If so, then the pass will cover you for the national parks in Hawaii too!

If you don’t already have the U.S. national park pass and don’t plan to visit any national parks outside of Hawaii within a year of your visit to Hawaii, then you may consider getting the tri-park pass.

What are the 3 Hawaii national parks that are covered with the Hawaii tri-park pass?

1. Haleakala National Park on Maui

Cost of Haleakala National Park individual pass fee in 2023: $30

There are 2 sides to Haleakala national park.

One side is the summit side, and a visit to the Haleakala volcano is one of the must-do activities on Maui.

The big thing to do here is to drive to the Haleakala summit, with the Haleakala sunrise being one of the popular activities on Maui. Permit required!

These permits are available up to 2 months in advance and cost $1 but generally go quick.

If you don’t manage to get a permit when they are first released, then there are also a limited number of permits you can try for around 2 days before you go.

See here for more info.

Otherwise, it can be a worthy activity to visit the park during the day and visit the summit then.

Besides the summit, the other worthy activity is to do the Haleakala crater hike where you’re hiking into the crater.

There’s also a “backside” of Haleakala, the Kipahulu district, that you can get to by taking the famous Road to Hana. (It’s not connected by road to the summit area of the park.)

This is the coastal side of Haleakala.

The popular activities on the backside include a walk through a bamboo forest.

There are also waterfalls to see within the Kipahulu side of the national park, including hiking the Pipiwai Trail to Waimoku Falls and Kuloa Point Trail to Oheo Pools.

You need a park pass to get visit this side of the park too. See more things to do on your way to Kipahulu aka things to do on the Road to Hana.

If you buy the individual park pass at Haleakala National Park, it will generally last for 3 days, but confirm this if you’re going for this pass. (It will likely be on the fee board as you enter the park.)

So if you want to see both sections of Haleakala National Park, which will offer you 2 quite different Hawaii experiences, then you’ll want to go within 3 days of one another if you won’t be buying an annual pass.

You probably won’t want to do both sides in one day, although if you plan it well and are ready for a long day, then it can be possible if you really want to.

Confirm current individual park entry fee.

See more about how to spend your time inside this Hawaii national park: Haleakala National Park

Also see where to see lava fields on Maui!

2. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island

Cost of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park individual pass fee in 2023: $30

In years past, the big thing to do at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was to attempt to see active lava flows (aka the red stuff).

There was a volcano that had been continually spewing lava for around 30 years, but that stopped in 2018.

Then, it started up again in December 2020.

Then in May 2021, it stopped again.

And so it goes with Hawaii volcanoes. 🌋

See current updates here.

But if you’ve never been to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, it can still be worth it to visit this park even though there’s no lava! You can see vast lava fields throughout the park.

There are 2 main roads in the park.

There’s Crater Rim Drive where you can see sulfur banks and a “devastation trail.”

And then driving the Chain of Craters Road will take you to the coast.

It’s possible to see Hawaiian petroglyphs and it’s also possible to see where old lava flows stopped right on the road.

Another one of the top spots in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the Kilauea iki crater trail to hike into a former lava lake.

Many people do a day trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from Kona. But there are things to do on the road from Kona to the national park if you want to take things more slowly and spend a night or 2 on the other side of the island.

If you buy an individual park pass at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, it generally lasts for 7 days, but again confirm this once you’re there.

Confirm current individual park entry fee.

See more about how to spend your time inside this Hawaii national park: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

And, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park isn’t the only spot on the Big Island that you can see old lava flows! See the list of where to see lava fields on the Big Island.

3. Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park on the Big Island

Cost of Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park individual pass fee in 2023: $20

A visit to Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park will offer you a glimpse into Hawaiian history. A walk through the park takes you on a self-guided tour that includes the “place of refuge” and “royal grounds.”

This can be an easy visit to add to your Big Island itinerary if you’ll be snorkeling at Two Step aka Honaunau Bay which is a top snorkeling spot on the Big Island.

The national historical park is right nearby.

You can see the park while you’re snorkeling, and you can see the snorkeling bay while you’re visiting the park!

Confirm current individual park entry fee.

And those are the 3 national parks in Hawaii covered by the tri-park pass!

What about the Pearl Harbor National Park site on Oahu?

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial is another popular national park site in Hawaii.

It’s a national memorial.

Visiting the grounds of Pearl Harbor is free, so you don’t need any sort of pass to get in.

Although you might want to pay $1 to guarantee a ferry ticket to the memorial.

There are also a number of paid museums on-site that might be worth it if you’re looking to get a deeper understanding of the Pearl Harbor tragedy. You may also consider purchasing the audio tour for around $5 to get a mini-tour around Pearl Harbor.

Otherwise, there are other free things to do at Pearl Harbor that can surely be worth your time too!

When is the tri-park pass worth it?

And how much does the Hawaii tri-park pass cost?

In 2023, the Hawaii tri-park national park pass costs $55.

Confirm the fee here in the annual pass section.

This means that the tri-park pass will truly be worth it if you plan on visiting all 3 national parks within a year, or if you want to visit one of the parks twice outside of the 3-day or 7-day time period you’re given for the individual pass.

If you plan on visiting only 2 of the parks a single time (or multiple times within the allowed time frame on the individual pass), then the cost difference is minor.

If you’ll be on Maui or the Big Island for a week or 2, then you might also consider getting the tri-park pass so you can freely go to the national park at any time during your vacation, instead of just the short time frame allowed by the individual passes.

Plus…

Why wouldn’t you want to be a proud holder of the Hawaii national park pass?! 😉

ALOHA!

While Haleakala National Park and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are the only parks with the actual “national park” status, there are more national park sites in Hawaii too! The other national historical parks are free! See the Hawaii national parks list!

HAPPY NATIONAL PARK VISIT IN HAWAII WITH YOUR ANNUAL PARK PASS!

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Where to stay near Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Read the reviews at partner website!

• Volcano House (book sooner rather than later! This is THE lodging of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and it's in demand!)
• Lava Lodge at Hale Kilauea
• More budget-friendly option: Aloha Crater Lodge

Here are some ideas for your time on the Big Island!

Among the most popular things to do on the Big Island are Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Akaka Falls State Park, and Waipio Valley!

For Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the main road to drive is Chain of Craters Road and it will take you to see the best lava fields in Hawaii! Before that though (or after!) you will want to make a stop for the Thurston lava tube. You can also hike into a former lava lake by doing the Kilauea Iki Trail!

Other Big Island activities you may want to make time for are the best black sand beaches in Hawaii (including Punaluu black sand beach to see turtles maybe!) and the Papakolea green sand beach of Hawaii.

👇 Explore the Big Island map on google maps!

See the list:

• Things to do on the Big Island (for VIEWS!)
• Things to do in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• Things to do in Kona

ALOHA!