Standing on the rocky cliffs at Ka Lae, I find joy in the fact that I, along with a handful of other visitors and local fishermen, am at the southernmost point in the United States. The scenery is stunning: The dazzling blue ocean glistens below and the colossal Hawaiʻi Island landscape rises in the distance. […]
At dusk on a cloudless day on the Kohala Coast on the northern tip of Hawaii Island, I pull into a small cove hidden by some houses in the residential neighborhood of Puakp. A couple of local families picnic on the shore, the ocean slowly turning an inky blue as it gently laps against the
Family-owned mom-and-pop shops are harder to come by these days amid all of Hawaiʻi’s chain stores and off-island brands. Fortunately, the island of Hawaiʻi still has plenty of small, locally owned, often family-run businesses. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the small town of Hōlualoa, located on the upland slopes of Kona. This area—at
The weather here in Hawaii has been all over the place recently. Heavy showers, thunderstorms and now—snow! Photo: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope With an elevation greater than 13,000 feet, snowfall on Mauna Kea isn’t rare, but the sight of Mauna Kea’s highest peaks covered in a white powder is an incredible view to behold. While much of the snow has
It doesn’t matter where I’m visiting—Kenosha, Wisconsin or Kyoto, Japan—I seek out independent bookstores. I love browsing the shelves, running my fingers along tattered spines or finding something unexpected in the not-always-organized rows of books. And you can learn a lot about the place you’re visiting from these locally own shops, too, which often showcase staff
It always happens when I’m standing at the overlook at the start of the Kilauea Iki trail, seeing the barren floor of the caldera, the scene of a spectacular eruption in 1959. The once-geologist major in me stirs. This roughly 4-mile hike is one of my favorites in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island.
It had rained for nearly a week straight, and the thick mud along the steepest road of its length in the United States filled the air with the heady scent of fresh, wet, vegetative earth. The sun was shining, finally, and it was the perfect time to visit: The abundant rain left waterfalls streaming down
My son was only a couple of months old when he embarked on his first hike—snug in an Ergo and napping the entire 2-mile trek to the top of the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail along the southeastern coastline of Oahu. It’s an easy hike I’ve done my entire life growing up here, and one I did
It feels like I’m descending into another world. One step onto the steep 500-foot-long boardwalk at the entrance of Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden and I am transported back in time. Leaving the modern world behind, I follow the walkway to the bottom of the valley. There’s a canopy of trees above me, and I’m enveloped
In need of some puppy love on vacation but couldn’t pack your own dog? The humane societies of Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island offer “field trip” opportunities for their adoptable canines, where you can take a shelter dog out just for the day. (Oahu’s Hawaiian Humane Society doesn’t offer this program.) Visitors and residents alike
A messy-haired boy in a superhero-red T-shirt and Crocs lowers himself to the level of two baby goats. One nudges his hand with its bony head, and the kid laughs hysterically. “Mom, mom, the goat head-butted me,” he calls out, smiling. Getting up close and personal with farm animals is part of the experience at
On a Sunday at sunrise, the South Kona sky painted in pastels, I drive bleary-eyed on Māmalahoa Highway heading south past monstera and banana plants toward the hulking mass of Mauna Loa, rising nearly 1,500 feet into the sky. Two quick turns past roadside fruit stands and my car rumbles into the parking lot of
