Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Wailoa River State Recreation Area

    3.9 (11 reviews)

    Wailoa River State Recreation Area Photos

    You might also consider

    More like Wailoa River State Recreation Area

    Recommended Reviews - Wailoa River State Recreation Area

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Sign
    Georgie H.

    What a beautiful park in the middle of this old city of Hilo. There is so much parking, and great facilities here. The grounds are beautiful, with lovely palm trees and some cool bridges over the pond. We saw some ducks with their babies paddling in the water. There were a few people enjoying the park, but really it was quite empty and very quiet and peaceful. There will be the sound of airplanes taking off though, as the airport is nearby. Great place to bring a picnic lunch.

    Lots of ducks
    Tamara P.

    This is a large grassy park located between downtown Hilo and Hilo Bay. It gets a little confusing with all the various long stretches of parks and grassy areas to know where one park ends and another begins, but the parking is generally located at the end of Piilani Street. This landscaped well-manicured park offers a lot of grassy picnic areas and tables, a boat ramp, restrooms and a Visitor Center, which is accessed from Pauahi Street. Our family came here and laid out a few large blankets and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch. The kids had fun walking along the river looking for fish, birds and ducks. Definitely a nice, relaxing way to spend a lazy sunny Hilo afternoon. We shall be back...

    Steve S.

    Nice park, but a little ragged. This is the site of a Japanese village that was wiped out by a tidal wave that came roaring through a very long time ago. The place was totally destroyed and lots of people died. The city made it into a park and threw up a memorial to the people that died. The memorial is rather pathetic because it is not kept up well. The picnic table are gnarly also. We looked at a couple of them and then opted to sit on some concrete at the memorial that wasn't defaced with carvings, graffiti and the remains of past food fights.

    Delapidated underkept benches, paths, lightpoles and landscaping
    Isaiah S.

    The park has a ton of potential, but unfortunately is quite underkept and usually plays host to shady undesirables. Party's are often held here, attended a wedding reception here, the pavillion is a great size and layout, however the park is not a place to be after dark. Sadly the paths are worn and need repaving, light poles with no shades (or bulbs for that matter) adorn the otherwise charming foot bridges and there is an art gallery and memorial off to the back of the park near the main government district. Overall the park is Huge and feels a little disconnected in my opinion. Cleaned up it could be a much nicer place, but should do for a quick jog or picnic.

    The footbridges
    Emily C.

    I saw this park while we drove through town, and I was immediately obsessed with the footbridges. We took our box lunch from the Hilo Farmers' Market and ate on a small island in the middle of a pond, then walked around a bit and took pictures of geese and trees. It's a nice city park in downtown Hilo and a good place to have a little picnic.

    Lots of green space!

    See all

    Photo of Kai F.
    36
    69
    120

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Aron N.
    106
    699
    2068

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 1

    3 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 7
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 12
    Thanks 0
    Love this 11
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 9
    Thanks 0
    Love this 9
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Isaiah S.
    85
    23
    31

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    16 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jim I.
    1
    51
    7

    13 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Wailoa River State Recreation Area

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Parks 249 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Kaumana Caves - Entrance- with a maybe 45Degree angle of stairs go straight down! Hee

    Kaumana Caves

    4.6(134 reviews)
    4.5 mi

    This is easily one of the best things we did on the Big Island. Luckily we saw a couple of You Tube…read morevideos that told us to bring a good flash light. We went by WalMart and picked up a decent power Flash light. Don't think you can do this with you cell phone light. The caves are not modified with railings and walkways and colorful lights. This is raw spelunking. At first it feels a little creepy but once you get in and start exploring the anxiety of being underground goes away. The floor is uneven and jagged. Don't come in flip flops. Bri g some sturdy sneakers or hiking boots. Water is constantly dripping from the roof but none of that matters cause you are so enthralled by the experience. You go through giant tubes carved out by lava you also enter giant cavernous rooms formed by the intense molten flow. Breathtaking is the best way to describe it. I wouldn't recommend little kids under eight. It is very hard to traverse some of these rocks. But go! Please go. You will thank me. Definitely Recommended.

    When we went it was on and off raining. The stairs are quite steep- down to the two caves. One on…read morethe right and one on the left. If you have trouble with balance etc. you should consider waiting in the car as the caves were wet and slippery. Was just accross the street from the parking lot. We were there for about 1/2 an hour. And it's FREE! I enjoyed seeing what the lava had created. We went to the volcano after this. Recommend flashlights and at least one head lamp. Phone lights are just too little!

    Photos
    Kaumana Caves - 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.

    Kaumana Caves - Inside looking out. Say by to the light.

    Inside looking out. Say by to the light.

    Kaumana Caves - One of the caves

    See all

    One of the caves

    Carlsmith Beach Park - Beautiful clear water

    Carlsmith Beach Park

    4.8(89 reviews)
    2.9 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
    Carlsmith Beach Park - #intenslypassionatephotography

    See all

    #intenslypassionatephotography

    Rainbow Falls

    Rainbow Falls

    4.2(382 reviews)
    2.6 mi

    Amazing and beautiful area to have a picnic and take family out for an hour or two…read more Cute trail small hike for the kids to enjoy. Lots of landscape to take advantage if you are looking for a nice photo opportunity. $10 for parking and $5 for each person. Very reasonable. The scan code was easy to use and fast for payment. There was nice ambassadors helping not just one person so it made it a fast experience and they were informative of where we could walk and viewpoints. Great customer service. Restrooms were cleaned. The informational boards had graffiti on it.

    God's gift to man I tell ya!…read more This was a quick stop as we toured a bit of Hilo, and I'd say it's a "must stop" if you're here for a short visit. It's definitely, and annoying touristy, so just keep that in mind. Yes, I'm one of them, so I hated myself lol. Features to highlight: ~ A big parking lot with tour busses parked. As well as cars full of people causing traffic. ~ A fairly long line for the restroom. A perfect stop for bus tours. ~ From the parking lot, you'll see the people along the fence-line checking out the falls. Taking pics, selfies, tiky-tok'ing etc etc. ~ Don't get me wrong with the negativity, it is fairly picturesque! I just cropped the tourists out. The day was sorta cloudy, so we didn't see any rainbows coming from the falls. ~ Take the stone steps to the right, up to the top, and you'll be gifted with a different perspective of the river above and the falls. ~ As you walk along the railing, you'll also be drawn into the tall trees that lead to the giant banyan tree. I'm pretty amazed with how vibrant a tree can be, and how much shade these large banyans provide. ~ We only spent about 15-20 minutes here, but we full-on enjoyed every minute of it! Side story that you don't have to read: As I was walking past everyone. A family had asked if I could take a picture of them. I kindly said, "Sure." Then some other random bonehead tourist stopped me and said, "I'll take their picture!" Fine, whatever dude, here's their phone. As I walked away, I heard Mr. Bonehead say, "I'll take several angles and we'll do a funny one, OK?" Hahaha, I looked back at the family, and they looked super annoyed.

    Photos
    Rainbow Falls
    Rainbow Falls - Fall from the guided area

    Fall from the guided area

    Rainbow Falls - Top of waterfall

    See all

    Top of waterfall

    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

    4.7(395 reviews)
    6.8 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
    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden - August 27, 2023

    August 27, 2023

    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden - Feathery canopy keeps you cool as you walk

    Feathery canopy keeps you cool as you walk

    Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

    See all

    Wailoa River State Recreation Area - parks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...