Huehue Hualalai Trail  | Hawaii |  | Hawaii County |  |
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Address Mamalahoa Hwy. Kalaoa, HI |
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Located off Mamaloahoa Hwy. near old Huehue Ranch, north of Kailua-Kona.
Description:
The Big Island is covered with ancient trails. They run mauka to makai and coastally, providing, at one time, accessible transportation routes in between villages and from farms to the sea. The old trails are becoming less and less acknowledged on maps and guidebooks subsequently leading them to be lost among the newly constructed developments and privately owned property.
The Huehue-Hualalai Trail is one such footpath. Traveling roughly 14 miles in a mauka to makai direction, the trail begins with a loop near the Hainoa Crater, about 1000 feet below the summit of the Hualalai volcano (8,271) and descends down to what is now the Mamalahoa Highway where the beginning of the Huehue Hualalai Lava Flow of 1801 begins. The footpath travels parallel to the Kaupulehu Lava Flow and the locations of the Kaupulehu Crater, Moa Nui a Hea and Akahipuu. However, the Huehue-Hualalai Trail is not easily accessible anymore. There are no informative sign leading or indicating the trailhead and the path is not maintained. Unfortunately, since the trail resides along the flanks of Hualalai, much of it is listed under Bishop Estate / Kamehameha Schools or private ranch property. The slopes of Hualalai are a hikers paradise, covered in native vegetation, the footpath rambles by pit craters, vents, lava tubes, cinder cones and a plethora of birds and animals.
At the foot of the trail, just north of the old Huehue Ranch and near the current Hualalai Ranch, along Mamalahoa Highway north of Kailua-Kona, there is an old dirt road that narrows and leads into the foot trail traveling east towards to mountain's summit. The road is unmarked but with a trail map access routes to the Huehue-Hualalai Trail might be navigable. If attempting to hike the trail an old North Kona trail map would be useful or a look in Atlas of Hawaii, Third Edition, edited by Juvik and Juvik. Permission to walk through ranch or private property is strongly encouraged.
Written By: Hadley Catalano
Features
Walking Trails
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