Agile Trekker: Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, Kailua-Kona

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/12/2026	2.1 miles	1 hour 29 minutes	32'	1.9 mph	83

Parking:

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park parking lot. The lot closes at 4pm.

Map:

Gaia GPS app
National Park map KAHO Park Brochure

Directions:

Take the Ala Mauka Makai trail from the parking lot. Pass the petrolglyphs (unfortunately this section was closed for trail renovation). Stay straight to follow signs for the 'Aiopio Fishtrap. Return the same way.

On Saturday, April 11th, we drove from Soledad, California to San Francisco, stopping at an REI on the way. In the evening, we flew 6 hours to Honolulu, Hawaii. We were tired when we arrived, but we were also very excited to be in Hawaii. I've only been once before, as an infant. We stopped at the hotel restaurant and had fruity adult beverages. They had a live band, and lots of older folks were dancing to the music.

The next day, April 12th, we woke up very early to fly from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. We were concerned about our trip here, because we read about Hawaii flooding on the news. Amazingly, we didn't really have any rain on our trip, nor did we see any signs of flooding. We stopped at a Costco and I bought a sarong (made in another country) for $10, my only souvenir from the trip. We also stopped at a taco restaurant.

We went to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, which is part of the National Park Service. We did a short hike there and checked out the coast. Two park rangers were there, making sure no one got near the endangered monk seal that was swimming there. We also saw a few green sea turtles swimming. Both are hard to take photos of.

Then drove a scenic route to the Volcano House. This is where we checked in for our stay at Volcano Cabins. The Volcano House is open 24/7, and welcomes visitors to stop in any time, even if they aren't staying there. It has an amazing view of Kilauea, the most active volcano in Hawaii. You can look down into the Halea'uma'u crater from inside the visitor center or go outside their backdoor to view it too. It's been fountaining very regularly since the end of 2024. We just missed a fountaining episode by 3 days! Seeing a volcano eruption is on my bucket list.

We drove to Volcano Cabins, where we would be staying for the next few nights. There are around 8 cabins. Our cabin had 3 beds, bedding, bath towels, lights, electricity, and a covered picnic table outside. There is a shared bath house close by. It was perfect for our stay. They are in high demand - so we booked the timing of our trip around our stay at our cabin. The cabin was chilly at night for me, so I borrowed my friend's sleeping bag.