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…
Must-see attractions in Hawaiʻi the Big Island
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…
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…
Hilo
Although small in scale, this museum is a good primer on Hawaii's natural and cultural history. Downstairs, geologic exhibits include fascinating examples…
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…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Creating impressive billowing plumes in the cool early morning, these vents make a convenient drive-up photo op. Hot rocks below the surface boil…
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…
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…
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…
Kailua-Kona
If you're an avid bodyboarder, Honl's, also known as Waiʻaha ('Gathering Water'), may feel like a historical pilgrimage. It was here, in 1971, that Tom…
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…
Kona Coast
Keawaiki is as isolated as Big Island beaches get, mainly because the quickest way here is via a 15 to 20 minute walk over an ʻaʻa lava trail that looks…
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…
Waiʻolena & Waiʻuli Beach Parks
Hilo
Rocky and rugged, these side-by-side beaches (commonly known by their former name, Leleiwi Beach) aren't sandy or calm, but they're Hilo's best shore-dive…
Maunakea
One of 10 identical radio receivers that span 5351 miles from Mauna Kea to St Croix, US Virgin Islands. The $85 million project went online in 1993 and…
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
Maunakea
This 3.6m (11.8ft) optical/infrared telescope's first light was 1979, making it the oldest operational telescope on the mountain. It specializes in wide…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
On the edge of an old-grown ohia forest, this campus of the main Volcano Art Center gallery in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park showcases spillover and…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Do your Big Island art shopping at this gallery and studio in the fern forest. Walls and tables overflow with paintings, handicrafts and jewelry produced…
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,…
Hawaiʻi the Big Island
A small rock chapel and cemetery above Kawa Bay is dedicated to Punaluʻu resident, Henry Opukahaʻia. Several years after watching his parents get killed…
Maunakea
Just past Mile 4 on the east side of the summit road, a washed-out valley full of grayish glacial till and rocks is a dead ringer for the surface of the…
Hilo
Built in 1910, this iconic blue building housed Koehnen's Interiors, a classy home furnishings store, from 1929 until 2012. Three generations of Koehnens…
Hilo
For boardsports, this is it: Hilo's only surfing and bodyboarding spot. Locals flock here for the consistent wave action, never mind the rocky beach. Don…
Kona Coast
With its pristine turquoise waters and shoreline fringed with coconut trees, Kiholo Bay is an off-the-beaten-track Big Island beauty. It’s more of a…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
A pause-worthy panorama that was closed at time of research with an expected reopening date in 2020. It's most remarkable for the 6-ton volcanic bomb…
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Constantly brutalized by unrelenting surf, the coastal section of Chain of Craters Road has sharply eroded lava-rock pali (cliffs). Visible from near the…
Maunakea
For 100 years these pastures were filled with sheep, and that historical legacy is marked by nearby rock walls stacked by Japanese laborers and the Humu…
Hilo
Tiny Mokuola, commonly called Coconut Island, connects to land (near Liliʻuokalani Park) by a 250ft footbridge. The island is a county park with picnic…
Hilo
Geared for kids, this center aims to educate the public about pristine Hawaiian ecosystems. Even adults might not know that the Hawaiian archipelago…
Maunakea
You can easily recognize the JCMT by the world's largest sheet of Gore-Tex® which covers the telescope allowing it to operate night and day. Its 49.2ft…
