I saw my first waterfalls on this trip. What an amazing way to start!…read moreWe saw both major landmarks,Boiling Pots and Rainbow Falls. I'm not sure which I liked better, it's tough to say.They are both astoundingly beautiful. This state park is truly breathtaking.If you're in the area, you have to put this on your agenda!

We were super excited to see the rainbow at this waterfall, but unfortunately, because of weather,…read moreit was pouring like crazy and we did not see it. We were disappointed and obviously can't control the weather. It was still a beautiful! But I highly recommend if it is pouring rain , you don't need to stop here and go to the akaka waterfall instead. (15-30 min from this stop) If you do, make sure to always have rain jacket with you! It also costs $27 for parking and entry to see one waterfall

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 bringing some serious current and water flow. First things first. If you try to come here, ignore all GPS listings. If you follow them, you will show up at someone's house & driveway. While I'm sure the actual falls are by/next to/close to their property, I'm also sure they get enough idiot tourists trying to enter their property and go past the large private property sign they have on their fence. If you're going to come, this is where you need to be: www.google.com/maps/place/Waiale+Falls/@19.7150775,-155.1382742,3a,75y,288.17h,98.4t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4yag74bCjWoARelbfpZOaw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-8.39938045894715%26panoid%3D4yag74bCjWoARelbfpZOaw%26yaw%3D288.16921980019015!7i13312!8i6656!4m6!3m5!1s0x7953b489de2d79c9:0x81e0c5009a29e2c9!8m2!3d19.7183333!4d-155.1430556!16s%2Fg%2F1td5xc5p?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgxOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D The issue here is that this is a residential area first and foremost and is not designed for tourist traffic & activities. There is no parking lot. There are no amenities, etc. Your choices for parking are along the side of the road which currently is somewhat dicey as the north west corner of the bridge area is under construction. You cannot park on the bridge (at least you really, really shouldn't) and a small parking lot attached to the school which is there. None are good and all are questionably legal depending on how you do it. With that said, we came briefly, took our pictures and left. Probably not the best idea to camp out & hike where it's not designed for it - piss off the locals, etc.

A fairly easy stroll takes you past lots of tropical vegetation. Although, there are inclines and…read moresteps to be navigated. The falls are worth the walk, the only issue being is getting to see the very bottom, where the water hits the lagoon. It takes a bit of stretching to see that bit. It certainly helps if you're tall-ish. I highly recommend making the effort to see the falls.

With so many beach parks on the north shore, it is quite difficult to tell where one park starts…read moreand the next door one ends. Such is the relationship between Kealoha and the neighboring Carlsmith parks. I think a fair number of reviews of Carlsmith include the coves that are north of Kealoha property, so you may want to read about that park to for more info. Kealoha is a stretch of public beach near the Hilo Yacht Club and Mahikea Island (to the north). It is long and narrow with a large parking strip off the road between the road and ocean. There is a stretch of green lawn with shade, restrooms, and picnic tables. During our visit, we did see scuba divers training in the nice sized cove that reportedly is an area frequented by sea turtles. It appeared to be about chest deep on the divers, so the bottom is clearly visible. Although we didn't see any turtles on the stormy day of our visit, we did see lots of small fish. Because of the light rain and storm, we really got our attention was the waves smashing into the lava reef that protected the coves. So much power in each wave as it hits that immovable reef, creating an explosive blast of spray as rhythmic as breathing. Very cool for someone who lives in a landlocked state to see. I wonder if the locals ever become bored with it. Anyway, we enjoyed the visit even without climbing down to swim. Maybe I can get back before I'm too old to enjoy it. I think I'd like to. Review #2409

Small beach park near the port. We stopped by after getting some late takeout for lunch since the…read morerestaurant had no dine-in option. There are a few picnic tables and a few people around but overall not many people there. The place wasn't dirty, but it also didn't seem well upkept. There are a bunch of street parking directly adjacent to the park. There are a few homeless people wandering around, sleeping on benches and digging through trash, though none seemed dangerous. Also some sleeping pads (homeless) near the washroom.

Always a lovely site…read more Early mornings are the best. Listening to the ocean push little ripples ashore are awesome. the soft white sand birds whistling leaves rustling As wind blows through the Banyan trees sun shimmering upon Ice Pond two little canoes floating the little white sailboat too

This was a hidden gem and well worth the time to explore. It was a short hike through…read morewooded/vegetative stretch on a trail that was initially paved. There was at least one short side trail down to the shore. The trail eventually led to a wonderfully peaceful cove with a ridge that proveded an overlook. The overlook afforded beautiful views of the water. It was a great alternative to the Tropical Botanical Gardens which seemed way too expensive for what they offered. This, by contrast, was free. The only issue was that parking was tricky. There were some spots for parking by pulling to the side of the narrow road. But these filled up quickly. There is apparently paid parking at the Botanical Gardens that could be an alternative.

This is an ever changing spot depending on the rain. It…read morerained big yesterday and it is really flowing. Quite Special

Nice little set of falls and swirling water with a couple of interpretive signs, and just a quick…read morestop away from Rainbow falls.

Like others have mentioned, it's a black sand beach. The white sand beaches are on the northern…read moreshores. I lived in the neighborhood (Alae Point) and volunteered for clean-ups on Wednesday mornings with Braddah Skibs!! He's there early, so stop by and say, "Howzit?" What I love about this place is that it feels like "old Hawai'i." I can paddle out and ask, "Pehea 'oe?" and sometimes get an answer back in Hawai'ian. Kaua'i is the only other place where I can get that old Hawai'ian feeling of Aloha. Sometimes the surf is really fun. When it's a big close-out day at Honoli'i, it's usually breaking cleaner at the Bayfront near the light house. If there's too much rain, the waters get dark and cold, so maybe try Pohoiki until it clears up. I've seen whales breach less than 200 yards from the lineup, and the sound is like a canon. When the waves are calm, the honu (sea turtles) come close to shore. Those are good days to take out a Costco foamie. It's bad if you hit a honu with your fins, but on a foamie it's "mo' bettah" for you and for the honu. The kama'aina (locals) are great. Just smile and be happy. Like they say, "Come with your Aloha, or don't come at all." Really, just leave all that c-r-a-p back on the mainland. Slow down, relax, and enjoy the day. You're on a beach on an island. "Planny" people fly by and never see the ripe bananas and papayas at the paka. -- One more thing, a number of stand-up paddle guys and some surfers have been wearing KSO Virbram Five-Fingers to protect their feet. To be honest, I've tried them, and "da bugga ok."

This beach is the gathering place for the surfers, but it's hard to find parking…read more I wouldn't say it's a place to hang out and chill as it's pretty small and rocky. But if you are a surfer or want to see surfers in action, worth to check it out.

We stumbled upon this park on our way to the "End of the Road" and really enjoyed our time here. We…read morehad planned on visiting a black sand beach and found this one serendipitously. Its like being at goth beach and I truly appreciated it. We took a ton of photos and when we got too close to the Wahi Kapu sign it started raining on us out of nowhere, so we took that as a sign to walk back to the car. That being said we would absolutely recommend coming here, its spectacular.

2025 is different from 2024, in between they tried to put in the boat launch which didn't work. The…read morehot ponds are still here and toasty. Some palms are growning, very little shade near the water.