It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands, Stromboli and Etna in Italy and Mount Erebus in Antarctica.

Residents of Réunion sometimes refer to Piton de la Fournaise simply as le Volcan ("the Volcano").

By the trailhead of the summit path there lies a small noteworthy crater called Formica Leo, named for its resemblance to the sand pit trap of an antlion.

[6] Some beaches in the proximity of the volcano are greenish in color, due to olivine sand derived from picrite basalt lavas.

The Grand Brûlé is formed from solidified lava flows accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years; the most recent ones are often the darkest and most vegetation-free, while older ones can be covered by dense natural vegetation.

[7] Most eruptions of Piton de la Fournaise are of the Hawaiian style: fluid basaltic lava flowing out with fire fountaining at the vent.

The lava flow crossed the highway and surrounded the local church, entered the front door, then stopped without destroying the building.

The front entrance was later cleared out, and the church was brought back into service under the name of Notre-Dame des Laves ("Our Lady of the Lavas").

[5] Volcanic activity is constantly monitored by geophysical sensors (tiltmeters, extensometers, differential GPS receivers, etc.).

The OVPF often publishes reports on Piton de la Fournaise's current activity via their website in French.

Procedures specify several levels of alert, which are decided by the prefect of Réunion on the basis of scientific reports: A forestry road followed by a track connects the highway of the plains in Bourg-Murat to the Pas de Bellecombe (Bellecombe Pass), where a parking lot and a snack bar are located.

White paint marks over rocks delimit a number of footpaths ascending the lava shield inside the caldera.