This was the perfect stop to get our baby's wiggles out on the way to the volcano! Infants and…read moreadults are free (you can leave a tip if you feel inclined). Parking was free and easy, and staff were friendly. Good baby area separated from the big kids. Looks really cool for the bigger kids. No AC but lots of fans blowing.

3 year old daughter had a blast. Clean and friendly environment for children to play on rainy days.read more

Our group of 11 had an amazing time zip lining! The guides did a fantastic job!!! This activity was…read moreso enjoyable and the views were great! I highly recommend The Umauma Experience.

We took the deluxe Umauma ATV tour. The place is awesomely beautiful, the guides were professional…read moreand cared about our experience, and my family had a truly wonderful time. We will do this again every time we come back.

Great waterfall Beautiful gals not much of a hike just a…read moresmall walk from the tiny parking lot. Have to pay to park and enter. It was a gloomy day. Lots of bugs up Top by the pretty trees.

Like many other people who come to the big island on holiday, one of the things you do is go in…read moresearch of at least a few of the area waterfalls. Even if the area you come from has some, chances are they/the surroundings don't look like this. Let me start with where the theme of this one is going to go. Of the five sets of falls we visited, same day on a Monday, Rainbow was easily the one I would have no trouble classifying as at best, underwhelming. Here's the scene. With this place now being monetized, you're looking at $5 p/p as an entrance fee and $10 per vehicle for parking. My issue with that is, you're still paying to park even if you come and the parking lot is completely full? Yepper. Like several others, we had to park on Rainbow Drive up the road from the falls as the actual parking lot was full. Scan the QR code or text for a link to pay and once you get on the grounds you are met with a small militia of people all out checking devices for payment. Once you're past them, it's with a right turn to the one viewing platform or a left turn and up a few steps to the elevated viewing platform. The right side platform has some placards about the history of the falls and of the myth/legend/lore behind them. The left side has the governmental PSA placards of listing the number of deaths from people that over the recent years attempted to go for a swim and it turned out poorly. Did we see any rainbows? No, as we were there a few days before Lala hit and it was cloudy/rainy almost everyday non-stop. Two other contrarian points: 1. For the fee, you also get access to Boiling Pots which is just up the road from here. I recommend that place over this one easily as there is far more parking, it's easy access and no one was there to enforce payment so at least the day we went, in theory that could have been a freebie. 2. This could also be a freebie as there is nothing stopping you from parking up the hill a bit on Rainbow Drive and walking through the Banyan trees to get to the backside of the elevated viewing platform/close to the water. It was being done while we were there. Kudos to those smart and adventurous people. I get it. If you're staying on the Hilo side, this one is close to downtown and it's easy & quick. I mean you could be in and out in 10 minutes no problem. With that said, to me, it's overrated and if you're going to spend money, Akaka is the way to go or hit up one of the other free ones rather than spending your hard earned money for something that is more a name rather than actual substance.

I had to leave a review from a local who is not wearing rose colored glasses like a tourist from…read morethe mainland. This playground is not terrible, but often dirty and in disrepair. No shade or sitting area for adults to enjoy. I'm always uncomfortable while here with my daughter while she is playing. There's often a teen smoking weed in the baseball dugout not far from the playground and the smell is wafting over. Overall, not an enjoyable experience. I would most definitely recommend going somewhere, anywhere else

Entrance is safe since there's a signal light to turn in. Lots of parking. Accessible ramp to get…read moreto the playground and eating area. Bathrooms is right next to multiple of tables. Playground is clean. I'm from the mainland. Most parks in Hilo don't have a playground structure for kids to play on. There's mainly a field and ir basketball court. This is the only park we were able to eat, kids played on the structures, and use the bathrooms. Trash cans accessible.

If you're staying/operating/visiting the Hilo area and are looking for a beach, this one is…read moreprobably as good as it gets. A few things to keep in mind: No such thing as big sandy beaches. They don't exist here. You've got a few patches of sand mixed with a lot of volcanic lava rocks (some smooth but most are different degrees of sharp). We visited twice on weekdays arriving in the late morning time frame. There is a good bit of parking here between along Kalanianaole Street and the main lot on Keauhaha Road. Each time when we arrived overall things weren't that busy but a few hours later, it was quite busy. I can't imagine what a weekend would look like? Trash, toilets and a lifeguard are here. We never saw any turtles but there were plenty of fish hanging out. IME, if you come during high tide and if you're in a deeper part of the water, you can get knocked around a little bit which with all of the jagged rocks... The scene itself is beautiful. The water is crystal clear, you can find some ok shade under one of the trees and overall it's very peaceful and serene. www.lovebigisland.com/big-island-beaches/carlsmith-four-miles/

This Beach park happened by accident when my niece was looking for a place for us to eat lunch in…read moreKona. This happened to be the closest picnic area that we could come to, thanks to a little tik- tok video she watched. If you're looking for a traditional beach with sand, this isn't the place. But what you'll get instead are the famous black lava rock formations Kona is known for that spill into several lagoons full of crystal clear water. As for eating, there are plenty of places to lay down a blanket in the grass, picnic and relax. The park has several trash cans for you to use as well and I did happily notice that the park was clean. I did not have to use the bathroom here so I can't comment on that. What impressed me the most was that they had built in stairs for you to walk into the ocean. In my entire life of traveling, I've never seen a beach park with built in stairwells to walk into the lagoons. This was a treat for me. If I have one big tip, it's to remember to have your water shoes because the rocks are sharp to walk on and can easily cut you if you're not careful. I also did read that they do have outdoor showers but I didn't see them when we were here. Lots of folks brought their own snorkeling gear because there were a lot of fish, not to mention at least 3 turtles that I saw swimming around. As I'm writing this review, I'm already missing Kona and the uniqueness of this island. If you plan on going to Kona, you must come and enjoy this place. It's truly special and I would recommend it to anyone.

Everything was amazing the people there were so nice, the cabins were amazing, and the pets are…read morereally sweet too. They have a Tv in the barn and a speaker for music and they play the news for us while serving us food as well. In conclusion the ranch is one of the best ranches you can go to.

Beautiful site, comfortable lodging, WONDERFUL family!! We unexpectedly stayed during the tsunami…read moreand were treated so well, it turned to be an awesome experience

Like many other people who come to the big island on holiday, one of the things you do is go in…read moresearch of at least a few of the area waterfalls. Even if the area you come from has some, chances are they/the surroundings don't look like this. We were here a few days before Lala and it was already raining buckets. The upside to that was getting to see the Wailuku River already ticked off/angry/bringing some serious current and water flow. The other good thing is that we had the entire parking lot & grounds to ourselves versus down the road at Rainbow which even in a steady hard drizzle/rain was very busy. If you're so inclined, the below two links give a little history, explain how many people have died on the river both here and down by Rainbow by trying to swim, and that technically, yes, the falls here are no longer free unless you are a resident. www.hvcb.org/listing/pe%E2%80%98epe%E2%80%98e-falls/109461/ dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/hawaii/wailuku-river-state-park/ We did this in reverse compared to most people. We came here first before going down the road to Rainbow. Like others have mentioned, coming here is odd because you drive through a low-key residential area and it feels like nothing is here or that you're almost trespassing in a sort of locals only area. More than enough of a parking lot. The day we came due to the rain, as I mentioned earlier, there was no one here and while there is a sign here about paying, I sure as hell wasn't doing that (technically if you pay at Rainbow it covers this place as well or vice versa but I don't remember the sign here saying that) and there was no one here enforcing things. Decent restroom facilities and it's a very short walk from the parking lot to the viewing platform. The platform has some signage about the history of the falls and the myth/legend/lore behind them along with a reminder not to swim and the death count over the past twenty-ish years. If it seems like deja vu all over again, all of the same placards and signage are at Rainbow Falls. This is by no means a long stop and if you are on the Hilo side of the island, you can definitely knock this one, Rainbow, Akaka, Waiale and a few others out in a few hours easily.

This part of the river and state park was also worth checking out!…read more The river is so fast, and it's such a gorgeous area! You can't get close to the area that is the boiling pots or the falls, but it's a cool little area and observation area. We enjoyed our time there, and took so many pictures. The area wasn't what we were expecting, but it was a cool little day trip!

Best playground equipment in all of Hilo and surrounding areas. This is a convenient playground to…read morevisit when I run errands in town because it's close to grocery and other shopping. Added bonus, I found $12 unclaimed dollars here

Pana'ewa is the go-to gym in Hilo if you want to get a game of pick-up basketball in. With three…read morefull-size covered courts, there's plenty of space for games to run. That said, not all of the courts are always open at the same time, as children's basketball and volleyball practices do take place in the gym later in the afternoon, depending on the time of year. Being that there's not really anywhere else that is open on a regular basis in town, however, you just deal with it and are happy to get a game in when you can. The majority of people who come to play here are really nice and easy to get along with. And as long as you don't act like a jerk, they're pretty accepting as well.