Steam Vents
These are steam vents. Hot ground breathing vapor a few steps off the North Pit Trail, higher than thirteen thousand feet up in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii County. Nothing here holds water you could sit in, and no temperature has been recorded beyond the note that the steam is hot. Honaunau-Napoopoo is the closest town at roughly seventeen miles. The Park Service lists the site as open.
This is summit country. Thin air, cold for Hawaii, with an average year hovering near forty degrees and close to a foot of snow. The vents sit almost on the trail itself, under fifty feet from the tread, on National Park Service ground. Rain is moderate for the island. What the ground looks like up there is not described in the record.
Treat this as a stop on a walk, with no soak at the end. The trail passes within a few paces. Season guidance is missing from the record, so let the snow months and the altitude set your timing. No campground is listed nearby. Check with the park before going.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Steam Vents.
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Gentle slope
- The ground tilts gently up to the southwest.
- Highest ground nearby
- 128 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southwest
A slice through the ground from south to north, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
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Steam Vents sits at 13,426 feet, well above 10,000 ft, where the air holds roughly 30% less oxygen than at sea level. Altitude sickness (headache, nausea, dizziness) is a real risk, especially when combined with the dehydrating effects of hot water. UV exposure is approximately 54% stronger than at sea level. Acclimate for at least 24 hours before soaking, drink extra water, and descend if symptoms worsen.
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Steam Vents is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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