Kona Coast
At the makai (seaward) end of the access road to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, this quiet locals' beach is perfectly positioned for…
Must-see attractions in Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Hilo
A regular stop for tour buses, the lookout for this 'instant gratification' cascade is just steps from the parking lot. Depending on rainfall, the lovely…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Northeast of Naʻalehu, this small park has tide pools, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond frequented by birds, and the photographic ruins of a historic pier…
Kona Coast
On the former grounds of the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, just south of Kahaluʻu Beach Park, three restored heiau (temples) and ancient Hawaiian…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
This serenely beautiful overlook looms 1700ft above the coastal flats of Hilina Slump: a semidetached landmass sinking 4in each year, and which may be…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Michael and Misato Mortara form hot glass into sculptures and vessels as complex and beautiful as the Big Island. Visit in the morning, or just after…
Kona Coast
This Mordor-esque lava plain of jagged ʻaʻa rock that crinkles to the deep blue coast then drops steeply into the ocean, lives up to its name. To get here…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Also referred to as Punaluʻu Nui, 800-year-old Kaneʻeleʻele Heiau was the region's luakani, or place of human sacrifice. A large flat stone below the…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Puʻu ʻOʻo vent saw the longest-lasting and most voluminous of the Kilauea's eruptions, oozing an estimated 80 to 160 million gallons of lava per day, or…
Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area
Kailua-Kona
Visitors often overlook this quiet park, located a mile from downtown. It's a grand spot for picnicking, jogging and fishing. The beach area is studded…
Kailua-Kona
Completed in 1836, this church is a handsome building with walls of lava rock held together by sand and coral-lime mortar. The posts and beams, hewn with…
Kona Coast
Above 3000ft on the slopes of Mt Hualalai, the Kaloko Mauka subdivision is the home of this spectacular 70-acre sanctuary. For the record, a cloud forest…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
There's plenty packed into this small one-room geology museum including real-time seismographs and tiltmeters recording earthquakes inside the park (and…
Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority
Kona Coast
That funny-looking building with the gigantic solar panels is the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA), a 'zero-net-energy facility' that…
Kona Coast
Inside the Four Season's Hawaiian cultural center is a small, museum-quality exhibit organized around a collection of 11 original paintings by Herb…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Testament to the area's important fishing grounds, this ancient temple and shrine is where Hawaiians left offerings in return for a bountiful catch. Some…
Hilo
Don't expect too much, but these two lava caves offer a mini adventure: pitch dark, sharply rocky, dripping wet, low in spots, mossy and thick with ferns…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
High points like this red cinder cone make great lookouts no matter whether you're Kamehameha keeping an eye out for rival chief Keoua in the 1780s,…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Although the Kilauea rain shadow keeps this area relatively dry, it's not a true desert; but what rain does fall is highly acidic from the upwind…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Sort of. The road ends where the lava says it ends, having consumed this coastal section of Chain of Craters Road repeatedly since 1969. Currently there…
Kona Coast
At the northern end of Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, this fishpond is especially fascinating because its massive rock retaining wall has been…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
An old saying goes: 'If you have seen all Kaʻu, but have not seen Palehemo, you have not seen Kaʻu.' This is likely less about the brackish historic…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Bolted to the top of the 40ft cliffs on the western edge of South Point, a boat hoist provides access to small fishing vessels bobbing in the sheltered…
Maunakea
Quarries scattered over 7.5 sq miles produced tons of exceptionally dense and fine-grained basalt (dubbed Hawaiʻiite) used to make a tool similar to an ax…
Hilo
At the northern end of Wailoa River State Park, a 14ft bronze statue of King Kamehameha stands facing the bay. Sculpted by R Sandrin at the Fracaro…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
A narrow, winding and potholed drive along lonely Mauna Loa Rd passes heavily forested kipuka (volcanic oases) as you come ever closer to the world's most…
Maunakea
When it came online in 1999, Japan's 26.9ft Subaru Telescope was the most expensive observatory ever constructed. The 22-ton mirror is one of the largest…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
In 1866 Mark Twain wrote in yet another long letter home that in Waiʻohinu, 'trees and flowers flourish luxuriantly, and three of those trees – two…
Kona Coast
Amazingly, what with all the other great beaches around, this secluded black-sand beach also belongs to Kekaha Kai (Kona Coast) State Park. Although there…
Manuka State Wayside & Natural Area Reserve
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
This 13-acre reserve offers a pleasant 2-mile nature trail through transitional forest to a volcanic crater. Following the uneven lava rock path, and…
Thirty Meter Telescope (planned)
Maunakea
Walk behind the Keck Twins and look northwest and you'll see...nothing. Down there is the ideal location for the TMT, which supersizes Keck's many-small…
Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens
Hilo
Hilo's 12-acre zoo is a terrific, family-friendly spot. Stroll along paved paths past tropical foliage to view a modest collection of tropical birds,…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
The Hawaiian Islands' youngest volcano is still well below the ocean and likely won't make its fiery debut for another 10,000 years or more, if at all. It…
Kona Coast
Many tour cruises launch from the small pier at this protected bay. While not worth going out of your way for, the small beach, picnic tables and sand…
Kailua-Kona
Step inside King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, just next to to Ahuʻena Heiau, to view historical paintings and a mural by legendary artist and Hawaiian…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Ancient Hawaiians used pulu, the golden, silky fibers found at the base of hapuʻu (tree fern) fiddleheads, to dress wounds and embalm the dead. In the…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Near the Kilauea Visitor Center, this sharp local art gallery spotlights museum-quality pottery, paintings, woodwork, sculpture, jewelry, Hawaiian quilts…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
The landing strip of Morse Field was a fuel stop for a trans-Pacific air ferry route until the attack on Pearl Harbor, after which the army tilled it up…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
For killer coastal views, pause at the scenic lookout above Honuʻapo Bay northeast of Naʻalehu. This sweep of shoreline and scrub is part of the longest…
Maunakea
These eight 19.7ft radio telescopes work together (via supercomputer) to create image resolutions equal to an antenna 0.3 miles in diameter. The SMA…
