Irazu Volcano National Park was founded in 1955 and became completely a national park in 1970. It has an area of 2,309 hectares and is centered on Irazu Volcano. The photo to the right shows vegetation around the crater and a partial view into the crater. There is a TV transmission tower on top of the far crater wall.

The volcano erupted for an extended period in the 1960s, almost smoothering San Jose in ash. The photo to the left shows remains of the forest around the crater destroyed by this eruption. During this period, the government had to restrict access to the crater because many tourists insisted on going to the edge of the crater during full eruptions!