Waipi’o Valley

Address: Waipio Valley, Hawaii 96727

UPDATE:  The Waipi’o Valley is only open via a driving tour.  The only tour I found online is here: www.wiapiovalleyshuttle.com.  This is a 90 minute tour that is highly rated on Tripadvisor.  The whole area is extremely pretty, including the drive to the overlook.  There is a horseback riding tour, but it no longer goes into the valley.  There is a ranch nearby and they travel about the local area above the Valley.

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 into the valley might be hard to justify.  Visit Weimea or a couple other stops on the way back to Hilo.

The Waipi’o Valley is located off the northern Hamakua Coast, and was the childhood home of King Kamehameha I, and is therefore an important location for political and religious life on the Island of Hawaii. In this “Valley of the Kings” you can also find an abundance of Hawaiian history, culture, and of course beauty.

The Waipi’o Valley is one mile across and five miles deep, and is surrounded by cliffs about 2,000 feet high. This isn’t surprising considering Hawaii’s tallest waterfall, Hiilawe Falls and 1,300 feet, is located in the back of Waipi’o.

This amazing valley can be seen from the coastal Waipi’o Valley overlook that is located at the end of Hamakua Heritage Corridor drive.