The National Parks of the Pacific Islands: Haleakala and American Samoa

The U.S. national parks of the Pacific Islands — in Hawai'i, Guam and American Samoa — stand out for their biodiversity, volcanoes and climate science, and for deep cultural and natural history. Eight parks span rainforests, islands, deserts and volcanoes. They take effort to reach, but offer beaches, hiking, camping and snorkeling — and the Park Service's Pacific Island inventory and monitoring program tracks the long-term health of their ecosystems, from geology, soils and water to plants.

Haleakala National Park, Maui

A park of subtropical and volcanic landscapes. Scientists here monitor land birds, plant communities, invasive plants, climate, stream animals and water quality.

Saving forest birds from mosquitoes. In 2023 the park, the State of Hawai'i and conservation partners planned a campaign to cut mosquito numbers by releasing non-biting male mosquitoes that cannot breed — a kind of mosquito birth control to give endangered forest birds a chance against avian malaria.

Keonehe'ehe'e (Sliding Sands) Trail. An 11-mile, all-day hike through alpine desert, past the crater floor, Pele's Paint Pot — an area of vividly colored cinder — and Kawilinau. Along the way: 'āhinahina (silversword), ancient lava flows, and pu'u — hills marking old eruptions.

National Park of American Samoa

An island park in the South Pacific with three volcanoes, tropical rainforest, beaches and a coral reef.

• Archeology. Within the park, staff work with local experts at archeological sites to study the islands' cultural and environmental history, and many projects draw on communities' traditional ecological knowledge.
• Fa'a-Samoa. The Samoan way is one of the oldest Polynesian cultures, a communal way of life that values the land and what it provides — visitors should respect it. Unlike most federal lands, most of the park's staff are local American Samoans, and the park gives indigenous voices a real say in managing the land.
• Plants. Bring an identification guide. The rainforest's fogãmamala tree is used in traditional medicine for illness and stomach aches, and the ifi tree's fruit is eaten by people and fruit bats.
• The reef. Snorkeling is popular, and the park's coral reef is among the most distinctive in the world — but warming water is bleaching it. Don't disturb habitats while swimming, snorkeling or diving, and check with park staff on how to keep reefs safe. See the park's coral reef program.

A Christmas tree worm (Spirobranchus giganteus), a marine worm you may spot while snorkeling. Photo by the National Park Service

Plan a trip: Pacific Islands national parks.

Sources

Based on "Travel Blog: National Parks of the Pacific Islands," by Abigail Stone Lauer, National Park Service Workforce Management Fellow in partnership with Northwest Youth Corps, from the series "A Day in the Life of a Fellow," National Park Service; rewritten in hubnx's own words.