Cool Big Island places to explore or just visit.

[Tink]

What kind of rig are you driving, out of curiosity to aid in "guesstimating" the road conditions?

Community begins with Aloha

[VancouverIslander]

A lot of great suggestions in this thread. I wonder if I could do that Kahinahina road on a mountain bike in a day...

Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike

[1voyager1]

@ Tink:
A late '90s Dakota AT and limited slip, without a winch [I'd 'a felt much more secure with one even though I didn't need it], no lift and no weight in the back, but a v8 engine over the front axle.
Much of the road is so rough with a lot of short steep pitches that I did almost all of it in 4 low to keep my speed down and have the torque when I needed it. There are a few stretches with gullies cut into them deep enough to more than bottom you out if you got a wheel into it. They need to be straddled or gone around beside them with very little clearance.
A lot of iffy little challenges to be dealt with, a lot of get out and look it over before going on. You do not want to travel in the dark. I did the trip solo which is normal for me. But, it would have been much safer with a second fully capable vehicle and driver along.

@ VI
I certainly wouldn't want to do it on a MB. There was a time I might have been tempted, back when I did 25mi+ several days a week just to keep in shape.
Most of the road is doable. Some of it is a mandatory carry. Get started at daybreak, just to be sure, and be setup to spend the night if you need to.
Then, you need to realize that much of the road is at 9k' to 10k' elevation. I would need more than a few hours at the visitor center to acclimate for a strenuous bike ride, maybe go live near the observatories for a week before trying it and carry oxygen.

I want to go ski the summit, but know that I can't do it without carrying an O2 supply.
I'm still trying to get that one figured out.

EDIT:
The website says to carry a cellphone. Forget it. I tried to call home several times at several different locations to let 'er know that I might be late, maybe not getting home until tomorrow. I finally got very poor reception when stopped at the paved highway. I just told her I wound be late but would be home tonight.

[Mimosa]

We enjoy Hakalau Beach Park on a week day.
The stream crossing though should only be done when we are in a dry spell .
Other than that,the trestle bridge and small surf break beach is awesome .
Weekends though are full of humanity .
The park is mostly maintained by the Hakalau Community and also sometimes the county .
The road in is steep and in the last few years-paved but beware of rock falls and across bridge at bottom the road is rough gravel - just as it w as some 30 years ago .Perfect for picnics or that time when in town you need to rest a few hours between appointments .
Mrs.Mimosa

[Kapoho Joe]

Pohue Bay