The wood-burning fireplace in the dingy, barely insulated state cabin at the Lodge at Kokee on Kauai wasn’t enough to keep me warm that first night, so I had donned everything I had in my backpack: a long-sleeved shirt, a thin hoodie, two pairs of socks and a rain jacket. It worked out, since that’s […]
If you’ve ever caught sight of a pueo, the Hawaiian short-eared owl, perched and looking at you with its wide, intense stare, or seen one flying in the air with its elongated wings, swooping over a large, grassy field, you know immediately that you’ve just witnessed something special. “I can’t think of any other animal
One of Hawaii’s most beautiful scenic byways is a 19-mile stretch of road on Kauai’s warm and sunny south shore. It is a gateway to adventure and an interactive storybook of the people and places that define the tiny town of Koloa. Holo Holo Koloa Scenic Byway highlights two dozen points of archeological, historical and
Walking so far up into the clouds along steep switchbacks and knife-edge ridges that the view below is hard to distinguish between sea and sky. This is the Waihee Ridge Trail on Mauna Kahalawai, also called the West Maui Mountains. The 2.5-mile hike is known as one of the most scenic treks on the island, and
It’s a rare sighting, even for Oahu residents who’ve lived on the island all their lives. Believe it or not, the wallaby, a small marsupial that belongs to the same taxonomic family as the kangaroo, can be found in Hawaii, reported to only inhabit a small section of Kalihi Valley. Kalihi resident Olin Lagon uploaded
Welcome to Waipio. Like all who are fortunate enough to find their way into Waipio Valley, photographer Jack Wolford remembers every moment, every feeling and every sight of every visit over the years. “There are few places left where you can, literally, drive down a road into another world and step back into time,” says
The Hawaiian Islands claim 10 of the world’s myriad climate zones, the only place on earth with so many concentrated in one small area. You can visit all of them on Hawai‘i Island, or find a few scattered throughout the Islands. Ready to zone out? Here’s your guide. Hawaii has 10 of the world’s 14
Within earshot of Kailua-Kona’s lava-enclosed airstrip and close enough to the ocean to feel the sea spray, a tiny blue building fronts an unusual aquatic farm, the only one of its kind in the United States. On any given day, Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm is home to more than 20,000 seahorses and I’ve flown from
People watching manta rays from Rays on the Bay at the Kona Sheraton by Chance Carpenter “The name of the manta—hahalua—can be interpreted as ‘two breaths,’” she says, “ha, meaning breath, and lua, meaning two … When mantas leap [out of the water], their experience from below transcends into our sphere … Their transcendence speaks
If you love seeing rare native plants and birds, then you won’t want to miss Kipukapualulu Trail, a 1.2-mile loop through one of Hawaii Island’s last vestiges of native forestland. Located just outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in eastern Hawaii Island, the free-to-access trail is also known as “Bird Park” to area residents because
Oh, baby, baby, it’s a wild world, indeed, especially in Hawaii’s forests and offshore waters. Sure, hikers trekking our hundreds of miles of mountain and valley trails rarely need to worry about wild things leaping out in full attack mode. (Lions and tigers and bears? Not us!) And we’ve nary a poisonous species of flora
The smell of freshly baked cinnamon scones wafts from the kitchen and down the front stairway of the unassuming two-story house I wait outside at Kukaiau Ranch, a 10,200-acre working cattle operation in the tiny village of Umikoa on the northeast slopes of Mauna Kea volcano. “Hey there!” calls a voice from the top of
