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…
Must-see attractions in Hawaiʻi the Big Island
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 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…
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…
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…
Hamakua Coast
Beneath a highway bridge, this park sits alongside Kolekole Stream in a verdant tropical valley. The river-mouth break is a local surfing and bodyboarding…
Puna
When the lava flow of January 1960 approached Cape Kumukahi, it parted around the 1.7 million candlepower lighthouse – the strongest in Hawaii at the time…
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…
South Kona Coast
Not quite pebbles, the smoky stones of this nonsandy beach at the bottom of the Kona Paradise subdivision range from gumdrop- to palm-size. It's a popular…
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…
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…
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…
Pahoa Recycling and Transfer Station
Puna
Although the award-winning, $3.9-million solar-powered transfer station is a solid waste management marvel, trashless travelers flock here to ogle its…
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…
Hamakua Coast
Katsu Goto was a Japanese cane-field worker who eventually opened a general store in Honoka‘a. Goto was hanged by local sugar bosses and accomplices in…
Kuʻualiʻi and Kahapapa Fishponds
South Kohala
Physical evidence of the ancient aquaculture system that once formed a crucial component of Native Hawaiian foodways is located smack-dab behind…
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…
Hilo
How strong was Kamehameha the Great? According to legend, anyone with enough strength to budge the 3.5-ton Naha Store would also have the strength to…
South Kona Coast
On its southern side, Kealakekua Bay is rocky and exposed to regular northwest swells, so swimming and snorkeling conditions are poor. That said, Manini…
Hilo
See the current swirling around a large rock in the upstream Wailuku River? Legend has it that the demigod Maui paddled his canoe with such speed across…
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
Maunakea
Even though this 3.8m (12.5ft) telescope is the second-largest dedicated infrared telescope in the world, it will soon be decommissioned according to the…
Maunakea
Hawaiian cultural practitioners ask that visitors respect the sacred true summit of Mauna Kea and not hike the trail to the top of the cinder cone (13…
University of Hawai‘i 0.9m Telescope
Maunakea
Hoku Kea was meant to be a teaching telescope, but the original 0.9m (3ft) mirror was delivered warped and the manufacturer went bankrupt. So, it has…
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Visitor Center
Hilo
Touristy, no doubt. But mac nut fans might enjoy glimpses of Mauna Loa's plantation and working factory. From windows above, watch the prized mac nut move…
Hilo
Due to its rocky shoreline, this beach is geared for older kids and snorkelers. Its nickname refers to the distance between the park and the downtown post…
North Kohala
The statue on the front lawn of the North Kohala Civic Center has a famous twin in Honolulu, standing across from Iolani Palace. The Kapaʻau one was the…
South Kohala
This park, which seems to be in a perpetual state of work-in-progress, encompasses 1.4 acres of beach by the Kawaihae breakwater and is the most…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
The once-awesome ʻAlae crater did not go easily. The Mauna Ulu eruption had just filled the 1440ft-wide and 540ft-deep crater with a lake of molten lava…
Maunakea
When this 26.6ft telescope is paired with its twin in Chile, they are able to cover almost the entire sky. In 2014, Gemini used speckle imaging to help…
Keolonahihi State Historical Park
Kailua-Kona
While largely overgrown with jungle and scrub brush today, this was once a major religious complex for Native Hawaiians. A heiau (temple) here was once…
Kailua-Kona
Kailua-Kona's only swimmable in-town beach is this teeny-tiny strand between Kailua Pier and Ahuʻena Heiau, where ocean waters are calm and usually safe…
Wailoa Center & Wailoa River State Park
Hilo
This eclectic, state-run gallery hosts a variety of monthly exhibits. You might find quilts, bonsai, Chinese watercolors or historical photos, all done by…
California Institute of Technology 10.4m Submillimeter Telescope (CSO)
Maunakea
Also known as the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, this telescope received its first light in 1986 and was shuttered in 2015. Observations of…
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
Maunakea
Able to utilize multiple sensors, this 3m (9.8ft) infrared telescope has diverse applications, from close-to-home observations – like measuring the ozone…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
About halfway along Chain of Craters Road is this coastal lookout (elevation 2000ft), with picnic tables and commanding views. That inky black snake's…
South Kona Coast
This tall white obelisk in Kaʻawaloa Cove is visible from a mile away at Kealakekua Bay. It marks the spot where Captain Cook was killed in an armed…
University of Hawaiʻi 2.2m Telescope
Maunakea
UH2.2 (if you go metric, UH88 if you prefer inches) was a pioneer of Mauna Kea. As the first large telescope on the mountain (1970), its great imagery…
Kohala & Waimea
This sales and tasting room specializes in locally produced 'white honey,' which resembles a pearlescent butter. It's not cheap (an 8oz jar costs $15 to …
Kailua-Kona
Kailua Bay was once a major cattle-shipping area, where animals were stampeded into the water and forced to swim to steamers waiting to transport them to…
