Know before you go
Reaching the northern end.
The trail's northern terminus at ʻUpolu Point is remote. Moʻokini Heiau and the Kamehameha I birthsite sit inside Kohala Historical Sites State Monument, at the end of a rough coastal track west from ʻUpolu Airport. South of here, Māhukona and Lapakahi hold the Kohala coast's best-preserved traditional village remains.
Access
- Kohala Historical Sites State Monument (Moʻokini Heiau, birthsite): daylight hours, no fee. From Highway 270 take ʻUpolu Airport Road to the airstrip, then the unpaved coastal road west; high clearance recommended, and the road can be impassable when wet.
- Lapakahi State Historical Park: 8:00–3:30 daily, gates lock at 4:00, no fee. Self-guided interpretive trail through the partly restored village; the offshore waters are a marine reserve.
- Māhukona: the old sugar landing, now a small county park; snorkelling from the wharf ladder in calm conditions.
Distance & terrain
No managed trail section here yet. The monument and Lapakahi are short, level walks on rough ground; between them the shoreline is unsigned and crosses private land.
Water
None. Carry everything.
Hazards
- No shade and constant wind on the point.
- Unfenced sea cliffs at ʻUpolu and along the Māhukona shore.
- The coastal road to Moʻokini is unpaved and rutted; rental-car agreements usually exclude it.
Respect
Moʻokini is an active sacred site under the care of its kahuna nui lineage. Do not climb the walls or enter without invitation, and leave offerings undisturbed. The birthsite is a memorial, not a viewpoint.
Official: DLNR · Kohala Historical Sites State Monument · DLNR · Lapakahi State Historical Park · The full planning guide →
Mauka · forest
The dryland forest above the trail.
Above Kohala's leeward slope lies the Kohala Field System — one of the largest pre-contact dryland agricultural complexes in Polynesia. Some 60,000 acres of stone-walled fields once grew sweet potato, dryland taro, and gourds. The walls are still visible from the air today.
Beyond the fields, the upland forest belongs to wao akua — the forest of the gods, traditionally left wild and unworked.
Mid · trail · heiau
Moʻokini Heiau and Kamehameha's birthplace.
Near the trail's northern terminus stands Moʻokini Heiau, a great luakini (war temple) traditionally dated to ~480 CE. Just below it is the site of Kamehameha I's birth (~1758). A short walk connects the two — a span of more than a thousand years of Hawaiian rulership in a few hundred yards.
Open this section in the map →Coast · the shore
ʻUpolu Point — the trail's northern terminus.
Where Kohala turns from leeward to windward, the trail ends at ʻUpolu Point. Black-lava rock meets blue-water channel; on a clear day, Maui is visible across the ʻAlenuihāhā.
Stand here · 360°
Māhukona and the Kohala shore.
Nothing is captured yet at ʻUpolu Point or Moʻokini. These are the nearest viewpoints south along the coast. Tap a viewpoint to load it and look around.
Conditions at the shore · live
Reef · sanctuary
Where the Humpback Whale Sanctuary begins.
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's Big Island boundary skirts this coast. Coral cover here is sparse compared to South Kona, but the deep-water shelf drops fast — good listening conditions for whale song in winter.
Ocean · kai
Humpback calving waters, December through April.
Each winter, thousands of koholā (humpback whales) migrate from Alaska to give birth in these warm waters. From a beach at Kohala you may see them breaching offshore — the trail's first lesson in how mauka, makai, and the sea beyond are one continuous system.