By:
Submission
Located on Mamalahoa Highway (Highway 11), 19.3 miles west of Na'alehu.
Great little 2 mile trail. Lots of bird life. Big Lava Tube Cave. Difficult to go down. Bring Shoes.
I don’t want to offend anyone, but we did the two mile hike yesterday. I wanted to love it. But it was terrible. There was nothing to really see because it was pretty much overgrown forest and you couldn’t really look around while walking because the path was very large lava rocks so you were twisting your ankles the entire way. The elevation change was gradual enough that an overweight 40 year old could do it with just a stop or two to catch breath. The crater was hard to admire because it was very over grown. Most of the original native plantings that are marked have died or been cut down. But seriously...the lava rocks on the path are insane. Fair warning, the last half of the hike, the decent, is actually worse than the first half because there are more rocks. If only they were smaller diameter it would be so much better.
Spent a few hrs up there on a rainy day, and it was still really beautiful and fun. We walked part of a trail and saw no one. Explored the area around the cabins, lots of intertwining trails. Will definitely be going back to hike on a clear day and possibly camp
Bathrooms were horrendous! Hike is overgrown. We did the full loop, but I’d recommended saving your steps for something more impressive.
A quiet place to stop, rest, take a short hike through the lava jungle, feed the peacocks, and have a picnic. I met the caretaker, and he takes great pride in keeping the place clean and neat. Unfortunately not every passerby is as thoughtful as he is in keeping it clean, but it's a wonderful little jungle oasis.
