Pololu Valley Lookout | Big Island attraction

view from Pololu Valley Lookout trail (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

So you've enjoyed the beach, but you'd like to get out and explore. What's there to see on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island? Here's how we spent one day of our recent trip to Hawaii. After leaving the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, we turned north on the main road, then left at the intersection onto Route 270. We first stopped at...

Pololu Valley (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Lapakahi State Historical Park — an archeological site with the ruins of an ancient fishing village by the ocean. Free admission but frankly not that interesting unless you're really into stone foundations of what used to be buildings. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant interpretive walk by the ocean and on the way to...

Pololu Valley Lookout — a quite worthwhile place to visit. There's free parking in the small lot at the end of the road (which fills up quickly), and you can park on the road. What's here? A short but steep hike down the hill to a black sand beach. The views are truly spectacular (see both pictures above). Be sure to wear sturdy hiking shoes.

Statue of Kamehameha I — a quick stop on the way back. The statue is in the small town of Kapaau, where you can also grab an [overpriced but good] burger or salad for lunch (or ice cream).

Waimea — we took a detour on the way back to our resort, passing through the town of Waimea (population about 9,000). You'll find shopping opportunities here, but you probably won't want to go out of your way to visit Waimea.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.