Hilo's activities & attractions

Address: Hawaii National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Island of Hawaii, HI Website: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm Price: $30 per car This National Park is home to Kilauea, Hawaii’s most active volcano located on the Big island. See the above link for the updated activity and lava viewing options.  The viewing has been very consistent the last year or […]

Address: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Island of Hawaii, HI 96718 Website: https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/craterrimtour_tube.htm A must see on your vacation in Hilo! Located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, it features a 20 minute 1/3 mile walk through a tree fern forest and lighted prehistoric cavelike lava tube awaits you. This lava tube was discovered in […]

Address:  Highway 19  between the 7 and 8 mile marker Going North leaving Hilo, after the 7 mile marker, look for the Old Mamalahoa Highway sign with a “scenic road” sign on it.  This is not to be missed and should be taken together with a visit to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.  The scenic […]

Address: 27-717 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Papaikou, Island of Hawaii, HI 96781 Website: http://www.htbg.com/#_=_ The Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is an impressive 4o-acre museum of living plants, the perfect destination for nature lovers, gardeners, and photographers! This garden contains more than 2,000 species of tropical plants that live and thrive in this unique natural greenhouse. Throughout this […]

Address: End of Akaka Falls Road, Off Hwy 220, Hilo, Island of Hawaii, HI If you are staying in Hilo and are looking to visit a waterfall, this is the perfect destination! Akaka Falls State Park is located 11 miles north of Hilo along the old Mamalahoa highway. This 422 foot waterfall is absolutely stunning […]

Address: Waipio Valley, Hawaii 96727 UPDATE:  The Waipi’o Valley is closed – even to pedestrian hiking.  See this link for the government notice here: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/Home/Components/News/News/3094/720.  You can drive there and view the valley from the overlook.  The view of the valley from the overlook is great, although a trip to the Waipio outlook just to look down […]

Address: Maku’u Farmer’s Lot, Keaau-Pahoa Bypass Road, Pahoa, Island of Hawaii, HI 96778 NOTE:  Since the pandemic this closes at 12 noon!  I used to have lunch at the food venues, so I hope the hours return to normal. A Sunday morning must! The Maku’u Farmer’s market is widely considered one of the best farmer’s […]

Address: Cemetery Road, Pahoa.  As you travel down highway 130 and pass the police station you stay straight while highway 130 veers to the left.  In just a quarter mile turn right on Cemetery Road.  Travel another quarter mile and the street turns left.  Right after the turn you will see the transfer station on […]

Address: Highway 130 and Leilani Avenue From May to September, 2018 lava drained from Mauna Kea and Pu’u o’o crater drained out and a new rift zone opened toward the coast in Leilana Estates.  A great video that is summarizes the activity was created by the USGS and can be viewed here: https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/photosmultimedia/videos.htm. After September, 2018 […]

Address: Waiopae Road, Pahoa, Island of Hawaii, HI   Updated:  In the summer of 2018 lava flows consumed this area, burying all the homes and increasing the size of the Island by 700 acres.  Only some roads have been rebuilt to reopen some remaining communties.  I have kept the article for historical interest.   The Kapoho Tide […]

Address:  Highway 130 until it ends UPDATE:  The lava stopped flowing into the ocean at this location in 2017.  The gravel road is interesting to talk or bike down for a while to see the development of homes by “off the grid” types.  Below is what the destination was prior to the stop of lava […]

Address: Naalehu, Island of Hawaii, HI Ka Lae, also called South Point due to the fact that it is the southern most point of the Hawaiian islands, and the United States is a unique destination. It is commonly believed that the first people to arrive to Hawaii between 400 and 800 A.D. arrived here, and […]