The park spells it Maunaiki and describes the hike as the Maunaiki and Footprints Area, across the Kaʻū Desert in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Eruptions and ashfall from Halemaʻumaʻu made the desert a bare, moon-like landscape, and footprints left in fresh ash by Native Hawaiians crossing the area can still be seen. Maunaiki itself erupted early in the last century. There are two trailheads: the Kaʻū Desert Trailhead on the highway and the Maunaiki Trailhead on Hilina Pali Road. From the highway it is an easy walk to a shelter with an exhibit about the footprints. Past it, the stretch between Maunaiki and Hilina Pali Road is moderate, crossing broken, jagged lava marked with ahu (stacked rocks), past cinder cones, deep pit craters and mats of Pele's hair. There is no water and little shade, and ash and dust in the desert can blow, so the park recommends eye protection and a dust mask. New earth cracks cross the trail in several places, and hikers must stay on the trail because of volcanic gas, ground fractures and subsidence. Hilina Pali Road beyond the Maunaiki Trailhead has had weekday closures to vehicles for road work, so check the park alerts.
Kaʻū Desert Trailhead on the highway or Maunaiki Trailhead on Hilina Pali Road.