Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This 100-acre family-friendly state park, with camping (first left as you enter), cabins
(second left) and various gentle trails in a quiet native forest at a cool 2000ft, is a favorite
local hideaway. Camping is in an attractive grassy area surrounded by tall trees. Group
cabins (eight people maximum) have bunk beds, linens and blankets, plus hot showers
and a fully equipped kitchen. Permits ($60/90 for residents/nonresidents) are required.
There are basically two trail systems; see the large park map standing near the cabins.
The first trail system begins where the road by the cabins dead-ends. The easy 0.7mi
Nature Trail passes through old ohia forest, where some of the trees measure more than
3ft in diameter. Detailed trail maps are available at the beginning. Be sure to follow the
trail marks as the path has grown in substantially. The Dryland Forest Trail begins at the
small trailhead but only goes in 100 yards. A small Polynesian Garden contains 12 of
the original 20 canoe plants (the plants first brought to Hawaii by the Polynesian voy-
agers for food, medicine and clothing). Don't take the Arboretum Trail ; it's so grown in
that the risk of getting lost is high.
The second trail system, and the most interesting, begins along Robusta Lane, on the
left between the caretaker's house and the campground. Robusta Trail goes about 600yd
to the edge of Kalopa Gulch, through a thick eucalyptus forest. The trail continues along
the gulch rim for another mile, while several side trails branch off and loop back into the
recreation area via the Perimeter Trail . Signage on this trail network can be confusing,
and there is no map offered, so a sketch from the park map near the cabins prior to set-
ting out would be helpful.
To get here, turn mauka (inland) off the Hawaiʻi Belt Rd at the Kalopa Dr sign, near
mile marker 42. Follow park signs for 3 miles.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Laupahoehoe
Another town that had its heyday when sugar was king, Laupahoehoe is now a small
community with a pleasant beach park and a handful of attractions. The great drive in
from the highway descends into a verdant tropical valley.
On April 1, 1946, tragedy hit the small plantation town when a tsunami 30ft high
wiped out the schoolhouse on the point, killing 20 children and four adults. After the
tsunami the whole town moved uphill.
In February, the Laupahoehoe Music Festival (Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park; admission
$10; 9am-5pm, Feb) comes to the beach park to raise scholarship money for local stu-
dents, with good eating, quality hula and tunes by the best local performers.
 
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