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Mauna Kea, Hilo, HI

Photo: Vadim Kurland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

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Mauna Kea

Stop at the visitor station at 9,200 feet, then take a four-wheel drive road to Hawaii's highest summit and its observatories.

Visitor Information Station, Mauna Kea Access Rd · Hilo, HI

About Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is a dormant shield volcano and the highest point in Hawaii at 13,803 feet, with thirteen observatories at its summit. Your first stop is the Visitor Information Station at 9,200 feet, where you get current safety information and spend at least 30 minutes adjusting to the altitude. The eight-mile summit road beyond climbs nearly 5,000 feet and requires a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle. The mountain is sacred to Native Hawaiians.

  • #stargazing
  • #volcano
  • #observatories
  • #summit drive
  • #big island

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Mauna Kea, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Mauna Kea State Recreation Area

    Check prices

    High-elevation state park at the base of Mauna Kea, offering permitted bunkhouse and cabin stays along Saddle Road.

    6.2 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Kalōpā State Recreation Area

    Check prices

    Forest recreation area on Hawaiʻi Island with campsites, cabins, and a short nature trail through native trees.

    15 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Akaka Falls State Park

    Under $25

    Walk a short paved loop through rainforest to see ʻAkaka Falls drop 442 feet into a gorge, plus Kahūnā Falls along the way.

    21 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    Pacific Tsunami Museum

    Under $25

    Hilo museum focused on tsunami history and public tsunami education, especially the 1946 and 1960 waves that hit the Big Island.

    26 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing

    Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

    No admission fee

    A national historic site on Hawaii's northwestern coast preserving an ancient stone temple tied to the rise of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

    27 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Shopping

    Prince Kuhio Plaza

    Check prices

    A large enclosed shopping mall in Hilo on Hawaii's Big Island, with many stores and restaurants.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    28 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

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