(BIVN) – For the first time in more than two years, the Kīlauea Overlook in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park will be open.

The event will coincide with the 104th birthday of the National Park Service, and free entry into the park. From the NPS:

Celebrate the 104th birthday of America’s Best Idea – our national parks – for free! Entrance fees are waived at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and all fee-charging national parks in the U.S. on Founder’s Day, Tuesday, August 25.

Visitors to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will have another reason to celebrate: Kīlauea Overlook will be open for the first time in more than two years. The 2018 Kīlauea eruption and summit collapse created unsafe conditions at the overlook. Numerous earth cracks and gaping sink holes on Crater Rim Trail leading to Kīlauea Overlook have been repaired, and post-and-cable barriers near the crater’s edge were upgraded. Visitors are urged to stay safe by staying on the trail and obeying all posted signs.

In addition, extensive repairs to Crater Rim Drive near Kīlauea Military Camp and to the road leading to Kīlauea Overlook are complete, and the parking lot has been resurfaced and striped.

“We are pleased to welcome our community back to Kīlauea Overlook in time for the 104th birthday of the National Park Service,” said Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Acting Superintendent Rhonda Loh. “Kīlauea Overlook is a vista near the edge of Kīlauea caldera that offers opportunities to observe much of the caldera and reflect on the dramatic impacts from the eruptive events of 2018,” Loh said.

Flocks of nēnē, the Hawaiian goose, are sometimes seen flying over Kīlauea Overlook after sunrise, and it’s a good place to watch for koa‘e kea (white-tailed tropicbirds) circling Halema‘uma‘u Crater. The section of old Crater Rim Drive, which plunged into Halema‘uma‘u during the summit collapse, is visible across the caldera.

Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Association, a non-profit partner that supports the park, will offer educational items, collectibles and more for sale on the lānai of Kīlauea Visitor Center to honor the NPS birthday.

Most of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is now open. Visit the website for detailed information on what areas are open, how to prepare for a visit, and how to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Haleakalā National Park on Maui will also waive entrance fees on Founder’s Day.