Kahuku History Hikes

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park News Release

Date: September 27, 2006

Contact: Ruth Levin, Park Ranger

 

Park Ranger Ruth Levin leads visitors on a hike through Kahuku.

NPS Photo by Dave Boyle

Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park offers hikes at its Kahuku section to celebrate the human history of this area. Entitled "People and Land of Kahuku", the hike is repeated on Sunday mornings, December 10, 2006 and January 21, 2007. No hike is scheduled in November. The Kahuku gate (mountain side of Highway 11 near the 70 mile marker in Ka`u) will be open from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Hikes begin at 9:30 a.m. and end at noon. There is no need to sign up for this hike and four wheel drive vehicles are not required.

Entitled "People and Land of Kahuku", the guided hike explores ways people have lived on the vast Kahuku lands from the earliest Hawaiian settlements through the Park's current and future projects. This moderately difficult hike traverses 2 1/2 miles of rugged terrain including lava fields, pastures, and historic ranch roads. Boots, long pants, and raingear are recommended.

A treasured home and rich resource in traditional times, a successful ranch since the 1860s, a 1940s radar station, and now a national park, Kahuku offers a variety of landscapes that tell stories about the past and give promise for the future.

 

For information, contact the Division of Interpretation at [phone].