Onomea Bay Trail – Big Island, HI

Tucked away along the Pepe’ekeo (also known as the Onomea bay) scenic drive, Onomea Bay trail is a short and easy trail but definitely worth a visit. We stumbled upon this trail the first time 5 years ago. The sun was setting so we barely have enough time to run down the short little hill before having to go back up. This time around, we decided to spend more time exploring it during our scenic drive through Old Mamalahoa highway. I’m glad we did. It leads to some of the most beautiful wild bays of the Hamakua Coast.

STATS:

Where:
Onomea Bay Trailhead – 27-547 Mamalahoa Hwy, Papaikou, HI 96781
Coordinates: 19°48’22.0″N 155°05’32.0″W

Parking: 
Limited.  Parking is along the shoulder of the road.

Restrooms: 
There are no restrooms.

Distance: 0.5 miles one way

Elevation: 150 ft

Level: Easy

Estimated Completion Time:
45 minutes – however long you want to spend there.

Ideal Weather: 
Do NOT take this hike if it is raining, or if it has rained heavily for the last 24 hours. It is preferable to have a beautiful, sunny day for this hike.

Ideal Time: 
Morning. There are a lot of bugs and mosquitos. They seemed to come out more toward the evening.

Dog-friendly: Yes, but they must be kept on leash.

THE HISTORY:

Originally, Onomea Bay was a Hawaiian fishing village called Kahali’i. However, in the early 1800s, it became a shipping port for a local sugar mill. The donkey trails were built to transport products from the mill to the bay below. Eventually, the area became abandoned and became overgrown. In 1978, it became privately owned. In 1984, it opened to the public as a botanical garden.

THE ADVENTURE:

Onomea Bay trail is pretty easy to find. You can simply look it up on your map or use the GPS coordinates above. If you’re coming from Hilo, it is about 1.5 miles once you turn onto the Old Mamalohoa Hwy scenic route. It is about 1 mile before you reach the botanical garden. If you’re driving from Kona, you have to drive past the garden. The trailhead starts at the fork between the main road and the old paved government road. You can’t drive down the paved government road.

It is a short 500 ft walk down the hill to the split. This hill is a little steep with about 100 ft elevation. Nothing too crazy but it will get your heart rate pumping for a bit. Don’t forget to check out the gorgeous view of the bay on your right-hand side. Once you get to the bottom of this short hill, you’ll come to a split. If you go straight, you’ll cut through the fenced areas. The fenced areas are the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. You can’t go in unless you pay for admission.

We weren’t sure which way to go when we got here. Lucky for us, there was a guard sitting in the middle of the fenced areas. He kindly informed us about which ways to go. If you make a right at the split, you’ll head down a short gravel road that will take you to Kukilu Bay. It is a pretty little stop with a small rocky beach. You can also explore the area by taking a super short trail to the endpoint of the small rocky cliff. It is quite peaceful as we were the only people here. You can just sit back and listen to the crashing waves. Make sure to use lots of bug spray though. There are a lot of dense tropical trees. Mosquitoes and bugs seem to love this area.

Once we were done spending some time at Kukilu Bay, we headed back toward the split and continued to cut across the garden. The paved road quickly turns into dirt. It is a beautiful walk through the shaded tropical trees and plants with the beautiful of the bay on the right. This pretty walk took us to a short set of stairs above a small stream. This is the Onomea stream. Onomea stream opens out into the ocean. This is the end of the Onomea Bay trail. If the stream is not flooding, you can cross over to the other side. This will connect the Onomea Bay trail with the Donkey Trail.

This is a popular swimming spot for local children. Please be careful if you get in the water. Hawai’i streams have both Leptospirosis as well as Giardia in them. The bacterias can enter cuts and cause major medical problems. Depending on the tide, the stream is either open or closed to the ocean. This makes the water either cooler or warmer and more or less brackish. The actual ocean is not safe to swim in because of its dangerous currents and no lifeguard.

This area here took my breath away. It reminded me of some magical, tropical place that I would read about in a book. The entire area is covered in green moss and lush plants. Twisted ancient-looking trees with their roots exposed, looming over the clear water. Dangling vines are swinging gently back and forth in the wind. Tucked away in the corner is a small waterfall, quietly rushing out to the gentle stream. The view from here out to the ocean is also magnificent. You can see two small rocks from this view. Several Hawaiian legends exist about the rocks. One of them believes that the rocks were lovers. They willingly gave their lives to protect the entrance of the bay from attack.

The stream is quite shallow the day we went, so we decided to cross over. If you do, please be careful. The rocks are slippery in some parts. After we crossed, we went up a short hill before the trail opened up to a beautiful view of the bay. If you go right, your destination is a lone palm tree at the end of the peninsula. This is a great place to have a seat and soak in the beauty of the area. If you go left, you’ll continue up a very steep and slippery hill on the Donkey Trail. This trail eventually connects to another portion of the Old Mamalohoa Hwy. Since the road has very little traffic, you can always walk about 0.5 miles back to your car instead of hiking back.

We only went up the Donkey trail for a little bit to check out the interesting looking Hala trees. However, we decided to turn back at this point instead of continuing further. On the way back, we ran into the botanical garden’s guard, Elijah, again. One of the reasons we love Hawaii so much is because of its aloha vibe. Elijah is the epitome of that aloha vibe. He was super happy and friendly as he told us about this beautiful place. In the end, we felt like we just made a new friend. If you are visiting Hilo, make sure to do the Pepe’ekeo scenic drive and stop by this short trail. Don’t forget to say hi to Elijah if you run into him.

Another short but beautiful hike in Hilo is Rainbow Falls. If you are adventurous, check out the lava caves, Kaumana Caves. Don’t forget to check out our top 10 things to do on the Big Island.

You can also hear Dustin talk about some of our favorite things to do on the Big Island on the Between The Mountains Podcast

Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and sign up for our newsletter!

RECOMMEND GEAR:

Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

•  Hiking shoes
Vy’s shoes are North Face HedgeHog GTX. 
Dustin’s shoes are Coleman Tasman Hiking Shoe.

•  Snacks
It is a short hike so you don’t have to bring snacks. However, if you want to spend more time there, you can.

•  Sunscreen: 
Not super important as the trail is largely shaded due to the forest canopy. If you need sunscreen, we use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter – Zinc Oxide – Coral Reef Safe and All Good Sport Sunscreen Lotion – Coral Reef Safe (3 oz)(2-Pack) or Stream2Sea SPF 30 Reef Safe Sport Tinted Sunscreen.

•  Water or refreshment
always good to bring water

•  Bug spray
Mosquitos and bugs LOVE this place. Make sure to bring bug spray and/or wear long pants and long sleeves shirts. We use REPEL Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent.

CAMERA GEAR:
•  Camera:
   Sony a7 III
   Gopro Hero 7 Black

•  Lenses:
   Sony 24 -70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Zoom Lens    

•  Accessories:
   Bobber – Floating Hand Grip for GoPro HERO Cameras    

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