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    Onekahakaha Beach Park

    4.7 (47 reviews)

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    Calmest waters in Big Island. Perf for keikis & older aunties!
    Annmarie M.

    Beautiful protected waters, free parking, amazing sunsets. While exploring al the beaches in Hilo, I stumbled across this gem. So peaceful. A series of sea walls make up several calm, clear pools of water with the open sea beyond. I found this area enchanting! Easy parking perfect for keikis and older people, or persons with mobility issues.

    Tide pool
    Larry L.

    Hawaii best Ohan Keiki beach!!! Great shade, surf break to keep the swim area calm, has bathrooms and good parking.

    Pavilions
    Shantell C.

    Onekahakaha beach located at the outskirts of Hilo town. There are pavilions to rent with grills at each location. Parking is first come, first serve. The beachside has tidepools and a large pond without waves.

    Aron N.

    When you are a kid and cannot really swim that good, a GREAT beach is Onekahakaha beach park! It's not deep and is protected from the ocean with large rocks; it has its own break-water! This place used to have all sorts of stuff crawling around on the rocks and it was fun to catch those little critters. Now, it's much cleaner and the pavilions look so much better. There's much less stuff crawling around - but if you look good you can still see crab and vana (sea urchin). Do not step on the vana. This place is just a great place for families to hang out at and for the little kids to play and even swim!

    Shana R.

    We came to Onekahakaha Beach Park during our recent visit to the big island. This was the perfect place for a toddler to splash around in the water without the threat of big waves taking them out. She absolutely loved it! Be aware that there isn't a sandy beach to lay out on, so I would recommend bringing some beach chairs and chillin in the water.

    Beauty at its finest "Onekahakaha"

    I'm very pleased to see a great cross section of nationalities that enjoy Onekahakaha. People truly enjoy the calm and beauty of this beach. We also enjoy it very much

    Halei J.

    This is a real beautiful beach. It is calm enough to swim in, and there's usually lots of honu around too. They have restrooms and a decent size parking lot. When I was here one year there were high tides and the parking lot was completely flooded. It was actually pretty cool. Love this place!

    The swimming pools and of course endless rainbows

    Very nice beach especially for kids nice relaxing and beautiful rainbows don't let the locals scary you alway from the beautiful place lol at least they party and keep it clean! Very clean beach and definitely don't wanna pass this gem up

    Lara L.

    Family friendly beach with a play area for kids, picnic area and large enclosed area for swimming and keeping the waves out of the way. Parking lot is small and this park is busy on weekends, so try to get here early. The restrooms are kept clean and there is an outside shower to use as well. There is also an enclosed horseshoe play area across the street from the restrooms.

    Onekahakaha beach
    Krystal D.

    Calm, fun beach for young kids and their family. Grassy area to sit, picnic tables available. Beach is like a lagoon. Calm and shallow for little ones. Fish and sea creatures in the water for kids to explore. Large rocks surround lagoon blocking waves.

    Nanea L.

    So beautiful I can't wait to come to Hilo again to come and visit this place. I'm from Oahu and I feel that this beach is definitely the Sandys or Makaha Beach of Hawaii island. This beach stretches a long ways and it seems like its always packed with locals. Love it!

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    9 months ago

    Awesome just a great place to get in the water and float with the sea and it's sea friends. There's lots of parking and it's quite clean.

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    1 year ago

    Easy to enter water & snorkel around the rocks. Be sure to check the tides chart to get the deepest water. Shade, grass, & so pretty

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    This beach is the perfect place for kids with parking close to the beach and wave-free swimming areas protected by rocks.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Onekahakaha Beach Park

    Review Highlights - Onekahakaha Beach Park

    One of the best family beaches--perfect for keikis just starting to get familiarized with ocean water.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Kaumana Caves

    Kaumana Caves

    4.6
    (135 reviews)
    6.9 mi

    This was a very fun experience. Be prepared to walk on uneven, rocky terrain and very dark caverns…read more It is recommended to wear good shoes, specifically hiking shoes, that will give you good ankle support and good traction. It is also recommended to wear long sleeves and pants to protect your arms and legs from accidental scratches and bruising. But most importantly, bring a headlamp so your hands are free to hold walls in order to maintain good balance. Do not bring a camera other than your phone and any extra things because that can hinder you when you're walking. If you complete the cave to the left after the stairs, it will spit you out near where the the parking lot, but you have to walk through the forest and brush which is very cumbersome and you can receive the most scratches compared to walking in the caverns. It also gets very muggy in the caverns despite water dripping from the ceiling. Is an incredible experience and it was super fun. There is no parking fees or no park fees. It is a feee experience with bathrooms at the top.

    Very cool experience to walk through 2 caves…read more Bring a flashlight / headlamp. Your phone flashlight won't be as strong but can work if you have no options. Ideal shoes would be hiking boots but gym shoes will work. There are steep steps going down and then uneven rocks until the cave. The cave is uneven as well. Parking: maybe room for 10 cars, so parking could be difficult. When we went around 1pm on a Saturday, we didn't have a problem. Park and walk across the street to enter. Bathrooms: I did see some. Didn't use them though.

    Photos
    Rooster looking for food-with lots of hens and babies. In the parking lot.
    Rooster looking for food-with lots of hens and babies. In the parking lot.
    Inside looking out. Say by to the light.
    Inside looking out. Say by to the light.
    One of the caves

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    One of the caves
    Carlsmith Beach Park

    Carlsmith Beach Park

    4.8
    (89 reviews)
    0.8 mi

    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.

    After coming across social media post, Carlsmith Beach Park was a must visit for me! I added it to…read morethe list of places for my uber driver/hubby to take me. We missed it the very first time, the hubby took me to the wrong beach & had to re-route. I remember it is hard to find via GPS if you miss the turn. We found parking after the beach and walked down. When I walked to Carlsmith Beach to finally check it out for the very first time, my heart just melted and just had that Wow, grateful, OMG moments and also feels like DeJaVu. I also asked my husband to pinch me, that I am not dreaming. It was so nice to just experience this live in real life, such tranquil atmosphere, crystal clear waters. I just love the color of the water, the ocean, so beautiful! Carlsmith Beach Park in Hilo is a hidden gem for sure! After we took our tons of photos, enjoyed the scenery which I really wanted to stay longer but we had a busy day ahead. For next time I visit, I would love to picnic & enjoy lunch under the coconut, palm trees and go swimming. Although I didn't sea turtles during my visits, hopefully next time.

    Photos
    Carlsmith Beach Park
    Carlsmith Beach Park
    #intenslypassionatephotography

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    #intenslypassionatephotography
    Akaka Falls State Park

    Akaka Falls State Park

    4.4
    (561 reviews)
    10.8 mi

    Totally need to come here when you were on the big island! This place was fantastic and so…read morebeautiful! So it cost us $27 for parking plus the entrance fee. It's a very small parking lot, but there is parking on the side of the road as well and you can walk pretty close by to get in. It was raining pretty heavily when we entered so do bring a rain jacket and an umbrella because it does rain a lot up here. But then it cleared up and it was perfect. There's so many beautiful flowers and plants and trees and of course the waterfall is breathtaking! Definitely worth it!

    I don't know if I would call this a hike, so much as a paved loop walk. Try to come early as the…read moreparking lot can get really filled, spilling into "paid" parking on the side of the roadway. You probably won't spend longer than an hour hear, unless you really get obsessive about capturing those perfect photo shots to post on Instagram. The pictures people have posted pretty much speak for themselves. But nothing beats seeing this live waterfalls, flowing in-person. With the wind in your hair, the scent of all the lush plants and such. This is on the Hilo side of the Big Island that is Hawai'i, so check the weather plan around the tropical rains that may or may not happen around the weeks you visit. You may pass some roadside stalls along the way here, where they're selling freshly cut pineapple of incomparable sweetness and flavor. Overall, definitely a space to get your dose of shinrin-yoku/forest bathing to cleanse your etheric body and be present in the moment.

    Photos
    Akaka Falls State Park
    Akaka Falls State Park
    At Akaka Falls State Park

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    At Akaka Falls State Park
    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

    4.7
    (399 reviews)
    6.2 mi

    I'm smiling just thinking about this place because if I could ever imagine a tropical paradise,…read morethis would be it. Best money spent on the Big lsland. At $35 for adults, $25 for kids aged 6-12, and free for kids 5 and under-- it's money well spent. Some might call this place pricey but after coming here, I disagree. Places like this are so rare and unique that they can just take my money. I've never been to a garden so full of exotic plants, flowers that I'd never seen before, mini waterfalls, a pond, and to top it all off-- getting to see the ocean waves crashing onto the lava rocks at the end of the garden. Prior to this I had never seen orchids growing in the wild off of tree trunks. These guys were everywhere here. And how do I know this place is cool even for Gen Z?-- I caught my 20 year old nephew taking videos of a beautiful flower that he was admiring. Of course I didn't make a huge deal out of it because he would have blown me off. Once you walk the paths and over the bridges, you can see how meticulously this garden is maintained. When you find out the history of how Mr. Dan Lutkenhouse Sr. and his wife Pauline who bought this parcel of land back in 1977 and decided to turn it into a garden, you'll be even more amazed. There was no machinery used to turn this place into the garden it is today. It was 40 years of Dan and his assistant Terry Takiue who worked with *just* cane knives, sickles, picks, shovels and a chainsaw to clear paths through the jungle. Another fun fact: He had no formal training in botanical gardening... Insert mind blown emoji here... Can you imagine that?? I can only respect that these guys did this just so that we could enjoy this garden paradise for us and future generations to see. Bravo to this place coming from our fam that came and loved it.

    The variety of plant life here is huge. The walkways for the most part are very steep and paved…read more but there are also handrails and benches. The grounds are spectacular with so many varieties of flowers and flowering plants. The waterways and waterfalls have a calming effect splashing over rocks and between ferns. There is a small gift shop, but as far as refreshments go, they only sell popsicles or small boxes of water.

    Photos
    Feathery canopy keeps you cool as you walk
    Feathery canopy keeps you cool as you walk
    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
    August 27, 2023

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    August 27, 2023

    Onekahakaha Beach Park - beaches - Updated July 2026

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