Kona Coast
Whether young or old, triathlete or couch potato, everyone appreciates the island's most easy-to-access (and admittedly busy) snorkeling spot. Protected…
Must-see attractions in Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
Kona Coast
Just north of Honokohau Harbor, on the ocean side of Hwy 19, this 1160-acre national park may be the Kona Coast's most underappreciated ancient Hawaiian…
South Kohala
Don't worry about that tongue twister of an official name; everyone on the island calls this beach 'A Bay.' 'A-plus' is another way of putting it: this…
North Kohala
It's off the beaten path, but this heiau (temple), near ʻUpolu Point at Hawaiʻi's northernmost tip, is among the oldest (c AD 480) and most historically…
Kona Coast
The gorgeous beaches of Kekaha Kai are all the more memorable for being tucked on the far side of a vast desert of unforgiving black lava. This 1600-acre…
Kona Coast
Though obviously artificial (a thin layer of sand laid over concrete is hard on the feet), the beach at Kikaua Point Park is also effortlessly beautiful…
Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park
South Kona Coast
Beautiful, historic Kealakekua Bay is scalloped out of the mountains, a deep-blue half moon set against a low lava point to the north, tall reddish pali …
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 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…
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…
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…
Kona Coast
The Holualoa Foundation for Arts & Culture created this community art center in 2002. There are free exhibits, a plethora of locally made art, plus…
Three Ring Ranch Exotic Animal Sanctuary
Kailua-Kona
Dr Ann Goody runs this animal sanctuary on five lovely acres in upland Kona. This isn't a zoo, or even a conventional sanctuary; instead, Dr Goody cares…
Kona Coast
Kona Leʻa Plantation does not use pesticides or herbicides on its small organic-certified farm, less than 2 miles south of Holualoa. As you drive up,…
Hamakua Coast
Try unique three- to 10-year-old 'aged' Hamakua coffee at this family farm. Wendell and Irmanetta Branco process their own and other Hamakua farms' beans,…
Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation
Kona Coast
This award-winning farm lies in lush Kaloko Mauka upland, a 20-minute drive from downtown Kailua-Kona or Holualoa village.You can visit on an hourly tour…
Kailua-Kona
This palace is a fascinating study in the rapid shift the Hawaiian royal family made from Polynesian god-kings to Westernized monarchs. Here’s the skinny:…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Repeatedly a flash-point for coastal-access and land-rights issues, Kawa Bay is now a quiet, pebbly cove. It's bounded by a creek and cliff-top heiau …
Hamakua Coast
Secluded like a storybook forest, this 100-acre state park offers camping, cabins and various gentle trails. Set amid native trees at 2000ft, it's a quiet…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
This high-clearance 4WD road crosses enough ʻaʻa (rough, jagged type of lava) to shake your fillings loose. However, once only for adventurers, these…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
On Kilauea's eastern side, Crater Rim Dr passes through a rainforest thick with tree ferns and ohia trees to the overflowing parking lot for ever-popular…
Lapakahi State Historical Park
North Kohala
This park was a remote fishing village 600 years ago. An unshaded, 1-mile loop trail traverses the 262-acre grounds, passing the remains of stone walls,…
Maunakea
Mirrors larger than 26.2ft are so heavy that gravity distorts them as they move. Keck's breakthrough design overcame that limitation in 1993 by using a…
Kona Coast
Kekaha Kai (Kona Coast) State Park's largest beach has salt-and-pepper sand, rocky tide pools, shaded picnic tables and pit toilets. Swimming usually isn…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
A wooden boardwalk weaves between misty, rocky vents stained chartreuse, yellow, orange and other psychedelic colors by tons of sulfur-infused steam…
Puna
This rocky beach park was the local surf spot serving all of the greater Puna area, but where once flowed ocean peppered with local talent battling over…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
Its official name, which translates to 'Immutable Island of Melodious Sound,' perfectly captures the valley's wind and birdsong. Just outside Pahala, you…
Puna
Kaimu was the most beautiful black-sand beach in Hawaii until the 1990 lava flow that consumed Kalapana torched its stately palms and filled the bay with…
Kailua-Kona
After uniting the Hawaiian Islands in 1810, Kamehameha the Great established the kingdom's royal court in Lahaina on Maui, but he continued to return to…
Hamakua Coast
Only real crazy buggahs would swim at windy, rugged Laupahoehoe, where the fierce surf sometimes crashes over the rocks and onto the parking lot. But it's…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
A short, 0.8-mile walk down the Mauna Iki trail from the Kaʻu Desert trailhead on Hwy 11 brings you to a field of scattered footprints preserved in…
South Kohala
This collection of petroglyphs carved in lava rock is so easy to access that it merits a stop, although the Puako Petroglyph Preserve further north is…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
In 1969, eruptions from Kilauea's East Rift Zone began building a new lava shield, Mauna Ulu (Growing Mountain). By the time the flow stopped in 1974, it…
South Kohala
Shallow, sandy and gentle, this beach lacks the dramatic sweep of Mauna Kea or Hapuna, but it's ideal for kids and popular with local families. Come to…
South Kohala
With more than 3000 petroglyphs that date back as far as the 16th century, this preserve is among the largest collections of ancient lava carvings in…
Kona Coast
The scalloped, palm-fringed coves of Kukio Bay are officially part of the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. The sand is soft, the swimming is good (even for…
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…
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…
North Kohala
While it has no beach to speak of, this county park, about 3.5 miles from Kapaʻau, has the best picnic spot around: an elevated pavilion with smashing…
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…
