Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site

We stopped here to kill a little time on our last day on the Big Island. A nice little place with some educational signage regarding Hawaii’s early days as a unified territory under Kamehameha. Great views of the ocean from this vantage point as well, apparently you can see sharks in the bay. A couple of nice paved trails to explore the area and a nice video to watch explaining the site as well. A small gift shop tops off the area and the rangers are super helpful and knowledgeable.

Great history here and sight seeing. Ranger George was awesome! If you have little ones they can do the junior ranger activities and get the special stamps. We spent some time talking to the ranger and he even let us take pics with some props! Thanks Ranger George for making our visir more memorable!

A fantastic national historic site to visit! Parking, admission, and sunburn are free of charge!
The rangers are incredibly knowledgable and accommodating. You are not allowed to enter the heiau because it is still an active temple, and would also be unsafe. Other than that, the site is fantastic. With the backdrop of the Kohala Mountains, you really feel the influence that Kamehameha had on the land. I recommend going on the quick walking tour by yourself and stopping at some of the sights. If you take your time, the walking tour should take about 45 minutes to 1.25 hours, but if you are in a hurry, it could take maybe 20 minutes as well.
There are a lot of great stories here. If you don’t want to go on the tour by yourself, join one of the guided tours! The rangers are friendly and I learned a lot about the history of the site. I won’t ruin the tour for you. Make sure to bring sunscreen or a hat or you will look like a burned tomato! There are very few shady areas.
Bill Tip– If you are looking for sharks, walk from the bottom of the trail back to the visitor center, and look out towards the harbor. The second tree from the shoreline is supposed to attract a few sharks because of the food supply by there. Look for the white tips of their fins.
Bill Tip #2: There are actually 3 heiaus on the site. Can you find all 3? :)

I really love the organization with the national parks and historical sites here. They’re very user (and rental car) friendly so incredibly accessible for everyone. Not to mention free!
This one I found especially good because there is a freedom to walk around and there never seems to be a large and claustrophobic crowd. Lots of history for you to explore within the visitor’s center and the short 0.5 mile trail complete with an audio companion you can download from your internet-​accessible phone. Thank you to the extremely friendly park ranger that enlightened us to this while walking around and even offered to take our picture in front of the main structure. Throughout my trip, I was so amazed how friendly everyone is around here and I had not seen ONE rude and unsmiling individual. Even the park rangers were awesome!
Anyway, we were here for a good hour exploring and just killing time before our flight back to the mainland. Since it’s right next to the water, there’s a refreshing sea breeze that cools you off as you learn more about the site and King Kamehameha the Great.