Things to do / Travel Guide
With a wide variety of terrain, biking on the Big Island is an activity suited for people of all skill levels. With lots of open space, light road traffic, and plenty of interesting places to explore, the sport is well-developed. Many of the popular one-way routes can be traveled either uphill or downhill. Note that, due to the varying topography of the Big Island, the side on which side you start a particular biking trail makes a big difference.
Bikes can be rented in Waimea, Kailua-Kona, and Hilo. It is important to note that there are no bike rental facilities near Volcano.
Listed below are 10 of the most popular biking trails, according to the Big Island Mountain Bike Association, along with brief descriptions of each trail's features.
- Walua Road - (less than 1 hour) A beginner-level trail, 3.2 miles one way, with a 600' elevation change. The road is paved and generally uphill with some local traffic. Highlights include ocean views and tropical landscapes.
- Pine Trees - (1½ hours) A beginner-level trail, 6.4 miles round-trip, with no elevation change. Most of the trail is on a sandy beach road.
- Pohue Road - (less than 1 hour) A trail for people of all biking expertise levels, 5 miles one-way downhill, with a 1500' elevation change. The trail features varying terrain and views of Maui and open ranch lands. The trail can be accessed from Makai and Mauka.
- Old Puna Trail - (3-4 hours) An advanced-level trail, 10 miles one-way, with no major elevation change. This is a rough trail through tropical landscape. The trail can be accessed from Hawaiian Paradise Park (Puna) and Hilo.
- Mana Road - (6-8 hours) An intermediate/advanced-level trail, 45 miles one-way, with a 3500' elevation change. The trail is along a dirt and gravel road curving around Mauna Kea. It offers great views and can be accessed from the Saddle Road and Waimea.
- Kulani Trails - These are intermediate/advanced-level trails which are essentially a network of technical, single-track trails. The terrain is rough.
- Volcano - All paved park roads in Volcano are open to bikes. See the National Park description below for more details.
- Ainapo - (3 hours) An intermediate/advanced-level trail, 9 miles one-way uphill, with a 2800' elevation change. The trail is along a dirt and grass double track and ends at the Ainapo trailhead, where summit climbs to Mauna Loa begin.
- Kilohana - (1¼ hours) A beginner/intermediate-level trail, 10.5 miles one-way, with no elevation change. Winding along a mostly rough gravel and dirt road, the trail offers great views from an elevation of over 7000'.
- Beach Road - (1½ hours) A beginner/intermediate-level trail, 21 miles round-trip, with no elevation change. The trail offers an easy ride on dirt roads through tropical landscape.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is perfectly suited for biking at all levels of expertise. Exploring the main attractions off Crater Rim Drive by bike is a good alternative to driving, as the road is good and traffic is light. More challenging trails in the park are longer and feature rougher terrain and larger elevation changes.
Below we list some trails in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, as excerpted from the National Parks Service descriptions.
- Circle the Rim - (1-2 hours) A circular trail of moderate difficulty, 11 miles long, with a 400' elevation change. The trail circles the Kilauea Caldera crater on a paved road with automobile traffic. Many side hiking trips and points of interest are accessible from the biking trail.
- Escape to Mauna Ulu - (2-3 hours) This challenging circular trail is 12.5 miles long, with an 800' elevation change. The trail's name comes from the road's having been built as an escape route during lava flows. It is unpaved and suitable only for mountain bikes.
- Overlook Hilina Pali - (3-4 hours) This is a moderately difficult trail, 18 miles long round-trip, with a 1400' elevation change. This narrow, paved road winds downhill over small fault scarps and old lava flows through the Ka'u Desert to the Hilina Pali Overlook. The overlook at the road's end offers views 2,000' down to the coastal flats. This area can be hot, dry, and windy. Note that the return leg uphill presents quite a vigorous climb.
- Ride Ainahou Ranch - (1-2 hours) A challenging trail, 5.7 miles long round-trip, with an 800' elevation change. With great views of the coastal plain, this route can be very hot and dry. Notably, the return leg uphill presents quite a vigorous climb.
- Summit to Sea - (2-6 hours) A challenging trail, 40 miles long round-trip, with a 3700' elevation change. The trails descend from the Kilauea Caldera crater's rim almost all the way down to the Pacific Ocean on the Chain of the Craters Road, which is paved and open to automobile traffic. Short detours can be made to various crater overlooks during the first few miles of the road. The trail offers great views of the coastal plain as the road crosses, and is eventually cut off by, massive lava flows. The return leg uphill is difficult.
- Ups and Downs of Mauna Loa - (2-4 hours up, 45 min. down) A challenging trail, 27 miles long round-trip, with a 2600' elevation change. The trail follows a paved, one-lane road up the slopes of Mauna Loa, through the Koa woodlands, and over prehistoric lava flows. The road ends at an elevation of 6,662' (2,031 m), where, weather permitting, you will be rewarded with a panoramic view of Kilauea. Watch your speed as you descend the narrow curvy road, as cars often cut blind corners, and as it is difficult to negotiate the hairpin turns. There are a few side trips you can take from this route, the longest of which is three miles long round-trip.
Biking Routes in Hilo, Kona, Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii
Biking
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