This is by far one of my favorite hikes on the Big Island. I have venture on it twice. The…read moretrailhead is located in Waipio Valley! Take the very steep road (Kukuihaele Road) down to the valley. When you arrive at the bottom of the steep road, you can go left or you can go right. Right takes you to the beach! Take a left and travel down the town dirt road. You are going to take this road for 0.6 of one mile until you hit a stream in the middle of the road! Do NOT cross the stream (crossing the streams is bad)! There is a trail-head immediately to the left of the road, exactly before the stream road crossing. You walk upwards on the dirt. There will be signs that say, "trail closed," "private property," etc. You will know that is the trail you want to take! Follow this trail as much as possible and try to stick to whatever appears to be a trail! I try to avoid the homes on the left of the trail as much as possible, to respect their privacy! While on the trail, you will traverse down by the river and back up and down by the river and back up, a few times...that is normal! Then, you will eventually come to many signs saying, "Under surveillance" and more warning signs...you are on the right track! There are two tiny fences you can either climb over easily or slightly go around...not too hard. Then you come to a man-made dam in the river! You will want to cross that dam! I walked in front of the dam, because there was less water. Then, once on the other side, I climb the dam and enter the waist high (depending on your height) water. I stay on the far right side of the ridge until I climb up on the rocks and back on a trail. Now, keep in mind, the trail will go upwards and downwards, along the river and back up on an actual trail. You will also cross the river several times, because quite frankly, there is no other way to do this hike AND the trail continues on the other side. You go through a bamboo forest too! Towards the last 1/5 of the hike, there is a longer well seen trail on the right side, which will eventually lead you to the Hi'ilawe Falls! My wife I and I did this hike and we only saw three people (a group) along the way, who turned back, because they did not have enough time to complete it. My wife is on the slower side, so it took us 2.5 hours to get there and 2 hours to hike back. On my first hike when I did this alone, I made the trip back in 1 hour (not sure about the bike there by myself, because I spent more time hiking over boulders and did not notice the trail on most of the journey until hiking back). A good rule of thumb...stay away from the stream as much as possible! Inevitably, you will have to hike on the side of the stream. Stay away from hiking over boulders as much as possible. The less you have to hike over boulders and rely more on the trails, the shorter the hike will be. Trust me, the trails are there, you just have to look for them and use some blasted hiking common sense. Wear water proof boots at all possible! I brought a backpack which I carried over my head while in the river at the dam area...only a couple of minutes worth of holding it. There are a few very slippery rocks...keep that in mind. If it looks green and mossy...it is going to be slippery! Best of luck! Happy hiking!

Snorkeling was very good here. It seemed strange at first but some divers were finishing up and…read moreconvinced us it was worth a try. I'm glad we stayed. I never really saw what I would consider a beach but maybe I missed that part. Mostly commenting on good snorkeling with easy access (there's a ladder) to get in and out of. My son felt it was the best place we snorkeled. It was free and not crowded.

Whoa, this is a pretty epic little park. Not well known. If you're making the drive up north on…read morethe Kohala Coast to Hawi, pick up some lunch in Kawihae at the popular poke shack or even some yummy fried chicken at the MinuteStop and have yourself a picnic here. At Māhukona Beach Park, the shoreline is rocky and lacks a sandy beach. There is a swimmers ladder in the old harbor. Fishing, snorkeling, picnic areas, and camping are available. At the south end of the park you'll find an unmarked trail that leads to a view of the old Mahukona Lighthouse. Next time we'll plan on snorkeling here. If you do snorkel/swim, remember to use reef-safe sunscreen.

Great beach. Loads…read moreof parking and shade. No large waves! Great for the kiddos and family's.

SSBP is an ideal destination for beachgoers who loves to idle on a day. The park is also perfect…read morefor picnics with great family facilities available in the area: drinking water, restrooms, outdoor showers, large picnic pavilion with tables and electrical outlets for your crockpot. - keiki friendly - plenty of camping sites - routine security guard from 1900-0400 - great spot for snorkeling Definitely this beach park is a gem. And if I am residing in this island, this will be my kind of go-to beach mostly on weekdays where I can have the serene place for my peaceful idle afternoon microadventure. Unquestionably I highly recommend this beach park! Cons: parking here can be challenging though! Mahalo for reading and happy juandering fellow yeeps!

The overlook is gorgeous and I'm sure the trail is wonderful. However, the road into the valley is…read moreclosed to pedestrians or non resident/native Hawaiian drivers because of poor quality road conditions and 'safety for residents of the valley' which simply put is suspect for discrimination. We watched no less than 10 trucks descend the road in a 30 minute time frame. A shocking anoint of traffic for a road in such poor condition that pedestrians might cause collapse. Not buying the 'sacred land' either as a local threw a cigarette right out of the window into the jungle shortly after starting the descent. Shame.

Ok, for this trail you need to take the good with the bad…read more First thought: Would I do this one again? ? Not a chance! Life is too short and this trail can be nasty. This is a jungle trail that doesn't have the traffic it needs to be well maintained. Roots from trees snake across the trail. Wild pigs have also contributed to the trail's detriment. They have dug up sections of the trail(truffles?). That being said, I thought this trail was a good challenge for me. The trip in sucked the life out of my out of shape legs. Upon arriving at the Waimanu Valley campsite, I found to my dismay that the campsite was composed of round volcanic rocks of different shapes and sizes. So good footing was not to be had. Especially for a late night restroom visit. No campfire allowed so I had to pack fuel and my jetboil. No swimming off the beach due to a strong current and LARGE sharks sighted just off shore. Now the reason for making this trip...

If stopped in here 2x this week. Each time in the early AM as I pedaled (bike) over from Hilton…read moreVillage. Each time the local canoe/paddlers we're coming back in. Each of them saying hi and being friendly for a tourists taking a break as a turn around point. I used the local bathrooms and clean. This place is locals only, nothing fancy with no shops or restaurants (those are up on the street). Small full of shells beach area which isn't anything for anyone to hang out. It is a great spot to go Droning as I whipped out my DJI Mavic and got some great shots of the waves, cove, and whales.

Man, when you stay driving from Hilo to Kailua-Kona, what if you gotta pee real bad, or do numba…read more#2??? Thank goodness for da Gilbert Kahele Recreation Center! You are my savior!!! I don't know if the Gilbert Kahele Recreation Center is considered a "half-way point" when driving from Hilo to Kona, but what I can assure you of, is a fairly clean public restroom when ya need it! Lol! Looking around at this facility, it appears that you can actually camp out here, as I see some structures that appears to be cabins, and there is also a playground for the kids. The Gilbert Kahele Recreational Center is just off of the Daniel Inouye Highway and is quite east to find, as the Pohakuloa Training Center is nearby. I've been up here many times during the winter, as well as during the hot summers. Be aware that coming up here in the winter can get pretty cold due to the elevation. Aside from the pit-stop restroom, there's not too much up here to do, but if you have a chance to camp up here, I can imagine this place to be pretty peaceful.

Super convenient, clean, not crowded, right off the highway 200…read more It's the Hilbert Kahele Recreation Area. It's the perfect rest stop! Amazing! Thank you so much for such keeping super clean!

This was a great walk along the Pacific Ocean. It's north of Marriott Waikoloa Ocean Club where we…read morestayed. There are many ponds located here. You're basically walking on gravel and some lava rocks. I walked as far as the KPC restaurant that overlooks the Pacific Ocean located at Hilton Waikoloa Village. There are multiple trash cans along the trail which is great. It took me about an hour to and from the Marriott. Go early in the morning to avoid the heat.

The OHV trail to the Pu'u O Umi Forest Reserve and Tree sanctuary is on highway 250 mile 5.5. There…read moreis parking on the west side of the road. The trail to the Forest Reserve is about 1.75 miles one way and up the entire way. The footing is a combination of grassy and dirt along a sometimes rough OHV trail between the two fences. The vegetation changes through many different zones as you go up making this a very scenic route. There is also a steep gulch on the North side which is the Tree Sanctuary. At the top you can enter the Pu'u O Umi Forest Reserve which is thick and lush, but very easy to get lost as the foot path disappears after only a few minutes. Overall an excellent and moderately strenuous hike due to the elevation change and there are great views on a clear day.