It's worth every bump you hit! In our last visit we were…read moreunaware we needed four wheel drive and didn't attempt with 2 wheel. This time we made sure to take 4 wheel drive up to the observatory. Please bring warm clothes including earmuffs and mitts. You will be thankful to yourself for getting it. It may be cloudy when you drive up with ring of clouds around both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa but many a times sky above at 13k is clear. You would also see Haleakala in west in distance if its clear. - BONUS! At 9k visitor center there is a restroom and then there are porta potties where observatories are. The road is 25% grade so be kind to your breaks and use 4L with m2 to drive up and 4L +drive while coming down. The rangers checked tank plus if the car is 4wheel and have instructions. Mind you! They also checked break after we reached down. That's good for you and your car! Now up at the summit you might be lucky to see the observatories rotating and opening for their nightly duties. They used to allow admissions in the past and sky gazing program at visitor center but not anymore. So you might have to check with them. No drones allowed - fyi! The rangers will also be everywhere and make everyone leave 10 minutes after sunset. Key point- bring enough water for all the members with you. Water has oxygen which helps you breathe and keeps you hydrated. Coming back to experience... The views are ethereal. This was one of the topmost points in my list ( pun intended) in big island. Sunset hues are out of the world. If you go on moonless nights and clear days you might get to see more stars and planets.

I don't like cold. I don't like snow. It was not my idea to come here. I could only be out of the…read morecar for 3 min. Being in Hawaii on the tallest mountain in frigid conditions is not what I want in a Hawaiian vacation. You have been warned, come prepared. It was pretty but if you're not prepared you will not like it. Bring snow pants and a parka with thick gloves. I could have skipped this excursion entirely but my husband wanted to go and he can wear shorts in a blizzard. The drive up and drive down is tedious. I had no idea that this would take 5 to 6 hours. You can only go up in all wheel drive or four wheel drive. If your brakes are too hot on the way down you have to pull over at the visitors center and wait over 30 minutes to leave. It was one of the worst times I've had on vacation. I may have a bad attitude but people should know the reality of it. I'm a big fan of looking at pictures of this place rather than actually going.

We visited Hawaii for our 2018 summer family vacation and we started on the Big Island…read more We started our last full day with a lava boat tour that started at 4am in Hilo and returned to the dock at 7am. We enjoyed a relaxed ride back to Kona via Highway 19. Before the trip, and once we arrived, I thought about visiting the telescopes atop Manua Kea, but realized that there were too many clouds, too few hours in the day, and sadly too little interest among the other three family family members, so he was OK not going. Then, as we drove home, we passed the Keck Observatory Visitor Center, in Waimea, and I quickly made a u-turn. I asked my wife and sone to let our daughter and me go in for just 5-7 minutes. Somehow that turned into 40 minutes, because it is pretty awesome! The docents are fun and engaging and insightful. We learned how they use adaptive optics to help ground-based see better, to see with clarity approaching that of the Hubble Space Telescope... they use a laser to measure distortions of the optics by the air in the sky and then apply that same math to "un-do" the distortion and make images of deep space objects more clear (this wording is all mine, not a quote from Keck). We also learned that the Keck Observatory has: ⁃ discovered over 100 exoplanets and has recently helped to classify different types of exoplanets ⁃ seen through the gas cloud at the center of our Milky Way and see the stars swirling around the black hole - http://www.keckobservatory.org/g-objects/ ⁃ helped discover dark matter ⁃ discovered the moon Dysnomia, around Eris, which is further from the sun than Pluto and bigger than Pluto, and which helped change the class of planet for Pluto (note... Pluto is still a type of a planet and deserving of that status; planets come in different kinds, just like stars do, and the demotion in 2006 was in part due to someone having personal dislike of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto) ⁃ the Keck I and Keck II telescopes, which have 36 6-foot hexagonal mirrors and sit atop Mauna Kea, make two 10-meter (30-foot) telescopes We had great visit and hope we can have more time to visit on our next trip!

We noticed the Keck Observatory Visitor Center as we were making a u-turn to get back onto highway…read more19. We went in, me just hoping for a restroom, that need satisfied we ended up spending over an hour learning about the Keck Observatory and their mirrors up on Mauna Kea. Jane was a wealth of knowledge and very enthusiastic about the work done up on the mountain. Usually one can look out from the glass front doors and see the observatories on top of Mauna Kea but it was very overcast while we were there, possibly due to the volcanic activity down south at Kilauea. I got the coolest souvenir there, a beach towel of the observatory and stars. I'll be the envy of all the ladies in the locker room at my gym.

We brought warm clothes, chairs,flashlight,blanket and hot chocolate with us. We hiked up the…read moremountain to see the sunset and the stars. It was a beautiful view and experience.

We fully planned to hit the visitors center and go no further (rental car, no 4x4). We came prepped…read morewith hoodies (it hit maybe 50°? A little chilly for the Midwest, but I loved it so much!) Catching sundown on the way up was absolutely beautiful. Some conversations heard inside: "You can pay someone $20 per person to go up, up to $200. But you get what you pay for, and the more expensive ones will drive, clothe, and feed you, and it's totally worth the price." Chilling at the visitor center - the staff was crazy knowledgeable about the stars, the area, their books - and made great recommendations (and prevented me from buying the wrong star chart for the wrong location and the wrong language!) - so be sure to ask them questions if you have them! Managed to catch some constellation discussion outside (he used a green laser pointer which made it easy to follow along!) But for the love of Superman - please don't turn in your BRIGHT LED LIGHTS at night when people are trying to enjoy the darkness and look up. They have red light flashlights there, or maybe let your eyes adjust and go slow - there's no reason to run!

Paniolo BBQ is a hidden gem that offers a wonderful experience for both kids and adults. They have…read morefun stories, live music, majestic views, enjoyable games, and the food is amazing!

This was our second time attending the Paniolo BBQ dinner, this time with our family group of 18…read more It was fantastic as usual! The view from the top of the mountain is incredible! The historical storytelling, the gracious staff, the food, all just wonderful!! I highly recommend attending!!