Just south of the park’s central village area, an oceanfront palm-tree grove holds one of South Kona’s choicest picnic areas. Parking, picnic tables and BBQs face a wide slab of pahoehoe (smooth-flowing lava), which is littered with wave-tumbled lava-rock boulders and pockmarked with busy tide pools where you may encounter sea turtles. Swimming is possible but can be dicey; judge the surf and entry for yourself. Note that it’s kapu (forbidden) to snorkel here.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Great Wall

0.16 MILES

Leading up to Hale o Keawe Heiau is the Great Wall, separating the royal grounds from the puʻuhonua (place of sanctuary). Built around 1550, this stone…

2. Hale o Keawe Heiau

0.25 MILES

'The temple on the point of the cove,' located a few hundred yards past the main park entrance, was built around 1650 and contains the bones of 23 chiefs…

3. Keoneʻele Cove

0.26 MILES

Once this was the royal canoe landing; now it's a tongue of sand that hooks into the waters (wave to those snorkelers at Two-Step just across the way) and…

5. St Benedict's Painted Church

1.97 MILES

A pulpit with a view, gravestones cradled by tropical blooms and a little chapel with floor-to-ceiling 'outsider art' make this church a picturesque side…

6. Society for Kona's Education & Art

2.6 MILES

SKEA is a hotbed of activity, with pilates, Polynesian dance, tai chi and Japanese-ink-painting classes, art shows and poetry readings; check the online…

7. Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary

2.61 MILES

Near the church on Painted Church Rd, these tranquil 7-acre gardens contain shrines to the world’s major religions and a staggeringly impressive ‘Galaxy…

8. Hoʻokena Beach Park

2.81 MILES

This modest, charcoal-colored beach is backed by a steep green hillside. When calm, the bay's waters are good for swimming, kayaking and snorkeling …