Big Island Hiking

Hawai‘I

Best Big Island Trails

Kona, Big Island

Exploring Hawaii’s Wild Side

More than 300 miles of trail cross this island, through eight of the world’s thirteen climate zones. Rainforest, cloud forest, lava desert, ranch land, and alpine ground above 13,000 feet. You can hike two of those in the same morning if you plan it right.

Oceanfront land on Big Island Hawaii near Kona and Kohala Coast, perfect for luxury estate developme.
↗ North Kohala Trail below Hawi at ‘Upolu Airport

Plan Around the Drive

The thing nobody tells you is how much of Big Island hiking is driving. A trailhead an hour and a half away is normal, and the weather at the other end is often nothing like the weather you left. I have turned around at more than one trailhead because I did not check.

So plan the day, not the hike. Look at conditions for where you are going. Start early, both for the parking and for the heat. And check access before you commit, because trails and roads here close for erosion, eruption, and cultural protection, sometimes for years at a stretch.

Trails Close to Kona

Koloko Trail

The one I actually use. Fifteen minutes from Historic Kailua Village and essentially in the backyard of Kaiminani and Holualoa, Kaloko is a set of short loops through quiet ohia and fern cloud forest halfway up Kaloko Drive. Mostly easy to moderate, with a few technical sections and slippery roots after rain. It runs busy early in the morning and again late in the afternoon, because that is when people here can get out.

Pu‘u Wa‘awa‘a

A cinder cone above Puuanahulu, ten miles north of Kailua-Kona, with trails that run easy to moderate and a summit hike of about seven miles round trip. From the top you get long views down the Kohala Coast. The dryland ohia forest here is one of the more biologically significant places on this island, with endangered plants and a good deal of native birdlife. Runners use it as much as hikers do.

Hiking trail in Big Island Hawaii, near Kona and Kohala Coast, ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and eco.

King’s Trail

The Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, built in the mid-1800s for horse travel, once ran thirty-two miles from Kailua-Kona north to Puako. You can take it in sections rather than all at once, and the easiest way in is at Waikoloa Beach Resort near the gas station. Look for the trailhead signs. It is fully exposed lava with no shade at all, so go early or go late, and carry more water than the distance suggests.

Aerial view of Big Island Hawaii coastline showcasing luxury oceanfront property near Kona.

Makalawena

A rough fifteen-minute walk over lava from the Mahaiula end of Kekaha Kai State Park, and the reason it stays uncrowded is that the walk keeps most people out. What you get is one of the better white sand beaches in the state with almost nobody on it. Wear real shoes for the lava, bring everything you need, and go early because the state park gate closes in the evening and does not wait.

Big Island Hiking

Waipio Valley Lookout

Waip‘io Hiking Update **

The Waipiʻo hike has been closed since 2022. Waipiʻo Valley Road is closed to all pedestrians under a county emergency rule that has been renewed continuously, with no exception for hikers. Access to the valley floor is limited to county residents, permitted tour operators, and Native Hawaiians exercising traditional and customary rights.

The lookout at the top is open, free, and still one of the great views in Hawaiʻi. If you want to reach the floor, a permitted shuttle tour is the only legal option. Anything you read online telling you to walk down is out of date.

Worth the Drive

Lava flow and volcanic activity on Hawaii's Big Island, near Kona and Kohala Coast.

Volcanoes National Park

More than 150 miles of maintained trail and the single best day of hiking on this island. You can cross the Kilauea Iki crater floor over ground that was a lava lake in 1959, walk through native ohia forest, or follow Chain of Craters Road down to the coast. Roughly two and a half hours from Kona, so treat it as a full day. Check the park site before you go, since eruption activity closes trails on short notice.

Oceanfront property in Kona with lush greenery and scenic cliffs.

Pololu Valley

The most photographed lookout in North Kohala, and the trail down is only 0.6 miles but drops 420 feet on packed dirt and rock. Fifteen to twenty minutes down, thirty to forty-five back up, and slick enough after rain that you should think twice. The black sand beach at the bottom is worth it. Parking is about ten cars and fills by nine. The ocean here is dangerous, and much of the land beyond the beach is private and sacred.

Big Island Hawaii coastal cliffs and beach, Kona and Kohala Coast oceanfront scenery, luxury real es.

Green Sand Beach

Papakolea, near Ka Lae at the southern tip of the island and one of only a handful of green sand beaches anywhere. The hike is a flat five miles round trip, which sounds easy and is not, because it is exposed to dust, heat, and constant wind on a sandy track. Do not pay for a ride in the back of a truck. Budget a full day with the drive from Kona, and go for the contrast as much as the sand.

Scenic waterfall in lush Big Island Hawaii rainforest near Kona and Kohala Coast.

Akaka Falls

A 0.4-mile paved loop through dense tropical vegetation to an overlook on a 442-foot waterfall, on the east side of the island along the Hamakua Coast. Short, easy, and genuinely memorable, which makes it the rare hike that works with small children and grandparents in the same group. It is a State Park with a small entrance fee. About an hour from Waimea, so pair it with something else on that side.

Penn Henderson, R(S)

How I Learned This Island

Driving to trailheads has helped build my understanding of the Big Island. Long stretches of Saddle Road and the Hamakua Coast and the back way into North Kohala, most of it before I ever thought about selling real estate here. You cover a lot of ground chasing a hike, and you notice how quickly the island changes on you. Dry lava at the highway, cloud forest twenty minutes later, ranch country over the next rise.

That is the thing mainland buyers underestimate. This island is enormous, and every district feels like somewhere else. When someone asks me what it is like to live in Waimea versus Holualoa versus the Kohala Coast, I am not describing neighborhoods from a map. I am describing places I have spent a lot of weekends.

Hiking trail in Big Island Hawaii's lush rainforest, perfect for outdoor enthusiasts and nature love.
↗ My kids on Kaloko Trail, North Kona’s cloud forest

Big Island Hiking

Before You Hit the Trail

Luxury oceanfront estate on Big Island's Kohala Coast with stunning views.

Na Ala Hele

The State of Hawaii Trail and Access Program, established in 1988 in response to public concern about the loss of access to specific trails and the threat to historic trails from development. It is the authoritative source for what is legally open, and it is worth checking before you drive an hour to a trailhead.

Oceanview walkway along Big Island Hawaii coast with lush greenery and volcanic landscape.

Research

Many trailheads here are an hour or more from the Kona Coast, and conditions change fast with elevation. Check the weather for where you are going, not where you are. Bring more water than you think you need. Tell someone your plan, because cell service disappears quickly once you are off the highway.

Beachfront estate in Honaunau with tropical palms and traditional Hawaiian carvings.

Respect

A lot of this island is privately owned, and a lot of it is sacred. Stay on marked trails, do not cross fences or gates – no matter how tempting – and take the signs at places like Pololu warning you away from burial sites seriously. Access here depends on visitors treating it well. That is not a formality.

  • Visit Na Ala Hele Website

What Hikers Often Ask Me When Buying

The question underneath most of these calls is about access. How far to a trailhead, whether there is public land nearby, whether the road holds up in rain. Those answers vary a lot by neighborhood, and they are not obvious from a listing.

Then there is the part that surprises mainland buyers. Adjacent land here is often private, conservation, or agricultural, and what looks like open space behind a property may or may not be walkable. I can pull zoning and adjacent parcel information on anything you are considering and tell you what you would actually have access to.

Oceanfront resort villa in Kona with tropical outdoor living and pool.
Property Questions?

Best Areas on the Big Island to Live if You Want Nearby Hiking

North Kona

Kaiminani, Kaloko Mauka, and Holualoa. Kaloko Trail is essentially in the backyard, and you are still fifteen minutes from town when you need it.

Pu‘u Lani Ranch

Twenty-two hundred feet above the coast on large acreage, with Puʻu Waʻawaʻa and the Hualalai slopes right there. Cool nights, wide open land, quiet.

Waimea

Ranch country at 2,700 feet, cool and green, and the shortest drive on the island to the Hamakua Coast and the north Kohala valleys. Rolling terrain out the door.

Hawi

The north end, and closer to Pololu than anywhere else you could live. Small-town North Kohala, working farms, and the wettest, greenest side of this coast.

Ka‘u and Volcano

The trade-off is the drive from Kona, and what you get is Volcanoes National Park close enough for a weekday hike. Cool, forested, and the most land for the money.

FAQ

Common Questions About Hiking On The Big Island

Range. In a single day, you can walk across a lava field at sea level, through rainforest at 4,000 feet, and into alpine desert above 9,000, which is not possible anywhere else in the state. The island holds more distinct climate zones than most countries, and the trails reflect that. What you will not find is a developed trail network like the mainland West. Much of the best hiking here is either inside the national parks, along shoreline access routes, or on land where access depends on permission and local knowledge rather than a trailhead sign.

Kilauea Iki in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the one everyone should do, dropping through rainforest onto the floor of a crater that was a lava lake in 1959. Pololu Valley at the north end and the Waipio Valley lookout offer classic windward valley views, both with steep descents. Akaka Falls on the Hamakua Coast is short and spectacular. Captain Cook Monument Trail in South Kona drops to Kealakekua Bay and is a serious climb back out. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa offer high-altitude routes for prepared hikers.

More than visitors realize. The Ala Kahakai coastal trail runs along stretches of shoreline with rugged lava walking and good access points near Kaloko-Honokohau. Upper Kalaoa and Kaloko have trails through dry forest with ocean views the whole way, and those are my regular spots. Makalawena requires a walk over lava, which is exactly why the beach at the end stays uncrowded. Kohala and Waimea open up ranch and forest routes with cooler air. You do not need to drive to Volcano to get a real hike.

Yes, in the mountains, and people underestimate it. Mauna Kea’s summit sits at 13,796 feet and Mauna Loa at 13,678, high enough that altitude sickness is a genuine risk for anyone arriving from sea level the same day. The visitor information station partway up Mauna Kea is where you acclimate, and even a short stop there matters. Hiking above the station is a serious undertaking requiring preparation, not a spontaneous afternoon. Sea-level to summit in one day is how people get into trouble here.

It depends entirely on what Kilauea is doing, which changes. When there is surface activity, the national park is the place to see it safely, and rangers post current conditions and viewing areas. When there is not, the park is still worth days of your time for the craters, the lava tubes, the Chain of Craters Road, and the coastal cliffs. What has changed since the 2018 eruption is that unsanctioned lava hikes on private and county land are far less common and far less advisable. Follow the park’s guidance rather than a video you saw online.

Sometimes, and it is the thing mainland hikers most need to adjust to. A great deal of land here is privately held, particularly ranch land in Kohala and Waimea and agricultural land on the slopes, and access depends on permission and etiquette rather than posted rules. Access to Waipio Valley has been restricted in recent years. Some coastal routes cross parcels where the norms are locally understood rather than signed. When in doubt, ask locally before you go. Getting this wrong is how visitors damage relationships that residents have maintained for decades.

Water, sun, and footing. There is no shade on lava and no water on most routes, so carry considerably more than you would at home. Stay on established trails and resist the urge to cut across a lava field, because it never goes the way it looks from the road. Aa is loose, unstable, and sharp enough to cut like broken glass, and a fall onto it will send you to the emergency room rather than to a first aid kit. Pahoehoe looks smoother and hides thin crusts and voids that give way underfoot. Wear real shoes, not sandals. Beyond that, cell coverage is inconsistent across most of the island, weather changes fast at elevation, and flash flooding is a genuine hazard in the windward gulches. Tell someone your route, and turn around earlier than you think you need to.

Yes, and that is the appeal. West Hawaii stays dry and warm year-round, so coastal and dry-forest hiking works in any month. Windward and high-elevation routes are more weather-dependent, with the wet season making valley and rainforest trails muddier and gulch crossings riskier. Summer at sea level is hot enough that early starts matter. Between the west side, the upcountry, and the parks, there is always somewhere on this island with good conditions on any given day.

Kalaoa and the hillside above Kailua-Kona put dry forest trails and coastal access within minutes, and I lived there for five years, partly for that. Waimea gives you cooler air, ranch country, and the shortest drive to both the Kohala valleys and the Hamakua side. Volcano puts you at the door of the national park, though that is a very different life from the one on the west side. Holualoa and the upcountry Kona areas offer forest and elevation straight from the neighborhood. Tell me how you want to spend your weekends, and I will factor it into the search.

Talk Story

Every Big Island move starts with a conversation. Tell me what you are looking for, and we will take it from there.

Compass Real Estate in Kona, Hawaii - Penn Henderson, Big Island Real Estate
Penn Henderson, Compass Hawaii

75-1029 Henry St., Suite 301
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

Phone: (808) 345-6214
Email: penn@pennhenderson.com