Alahanui Park – Hot Spring

If you are visiting Pualaa please be sure to refrain from wearing your chemical ridden sunblock. There is a health food store in Pahoa called Island naturals where you can get some sunblock that doesn’t choke out our reefs and fish. You are a visitor, have respect for the locals. It is not always warm here, it depends on how rough the ocean is and whether it is high tide or low tide. There are no restrooms neither, just gross portables.

The water was lovely and there were plenty of fish to gander at with some goggles. The only down side was the overcrowding and a good portion was blocked off due to a recent swell.

If you have never been… go for it! Keep your mouth closed, as you really don’t know who has done what in that water and yes, homeless folks use it to bathe themselves (get over it, folks!). WEAR WATER SHOES! We didn’t and I nailed my toe. Dumb… I read the reviews and chose to ignore them. It is a cool place and the water really is 15* warmer than tidepools and elsewhere. You can feel the cool ocean water as it comes in at times. It was a fun place to be and we are glad we went. Some people act like such spoiled Americans! It is NOT a chlorinated hot tub! It is a Hot Springs pool spot. Enjoy the scenery and enjoy each other!

The water is lukewarm so do not expect «hot» hot springs. It gets cooler towards the evening when the ocean tide rises and splashes over into the pool. The parking is hard to get though there is an overflow parking across the road.
The water is quite dirty. You can clearly see it when you exit the water. Your body hair will be covered in brown dirt. Good thing there is a shower nearby to rinse.
The pool get crowded with some questionable attendees in the mix. It’s a public place free of charge so homeless people use that pool too.
It’s tempting to dip into warm water pool with a beautiful ocean view but after seeing some guests I don’t feel like it’s a clean and safe place.

This is a warm pool of water enclosed as the water is coming in from the ocean at one section of it. The water is so warm my fingers wrinkled up 10 minutes after being in. It’s good to come here early before the crowd does, small amounts of water is being poured in from the ocean through out the day so there is a chance of bacteria in here from the standing water unless you hang out near the ocean entrance to this thing. It’s deep in some parts and shallow in other parts. It’s really pretty here and we got a light rain when we first arrived which made it an awesome experience. Bring the water shoes, it’s rocky. There is a life guard on duty and they have showers and bathrooms here. You can’t access the ocean from here I saw signs posted. The locals love this place as does the kids.

This place is a must visit when you’re on the Big Island. Natural (and part man-​made) enclosed hot springs, protected from the gushing cold ocean waves, amazing place to relax and float about! The day I came here (November), it was raining, it was freezing (I live in Oahu, so my «freezing» scale may be different from yours), so I couldn’t wait to jump in the hot springs. The long drive from Hilo was so worth it!
There are man-​made small stairs & handles to safely go in & out of the springs. From there, just float around and soak in the warm water. Since it’s a natural hot springs, not all spots are going to be hot/​warm. Some spots can be cold, but the spot right next to it is hot– and it moves around, so move around with it. Just go with the flow. Don’t expect a hot tub!
Towards the far end of the springs, there’s a small opening where the ocean water gushes in– the waves happen to be pretty strong that day, so it was fun being pushed around by the current! :) And then when it got cold again, I would swim right back into the hot center of the springs.
There are some sharp rocks scattered about on the bottom of the springs, so be careful!

There is another Unilocal page for this park that is a lot better. Just search the park name and you’ll see it

Meh. I came in the mid afternoon and the water was already luke warm, or rather cool in some places, from the ocean water rushing in. I’m sure it’s quite nice when it’s steaming hot, but really I’ve had better experiences in a bathtub. The people at the park were nice, and the had a shower and port-​o-​potties there so you can wash up and take care of business. I’d like to return at a better time of day, but this experience was underwhelming.

From Kehena Beach, it was about a 20 – 30 min drive to what we kept reading as a must see attraction. The drive was nice, a pleasant winding road covered on both sides with banyan trees and bamboo. If you drive too fast, you’ll miss the entrance. It was really nothing more than a sectioned off «natural» pool of warm water bordering the ocean (promoted as being heated by the volcano springs) with many «older» folk wading with their noodles and swim caps. My husband and I literally took a dip for 5 minutes, then left. That was it. Nothing to write home about. I’d skip it…

I love this place, Yes, the water varies temperatures in areas. If it’s too cold move to the other side. We took our toddlers they had a blast, friendly funky folks abound. So there’s no changing room, It’s Puna nobody cares use your car door. Everyones seen a butt. It’s a must do on the big island I recommend.

Love, love, love this place. It’s hidden and let’s keep it that way. No need to have too many people to know about this awesome hot spring. So relaxing and fun to be in the water. Kids enjoyed the warmth of the salted ocean water.

While staying the in Lower Puna I got the chance to visit the Warm Ponds a lot. I love the people, the relaxing environment and the occasional nipping from a curious fish. This is a great place to take the family and have a picnic. Its safe for little ones because it is protected from the ocean’s full force by several breakwaters and there is usually a life guard on duty.

meh… didn’t jump in because it the temp was barely room temp, kinda disappointing, but cool to see, maybe you’ll visit on a day when the temps and wave are just right for a good soaking, i didnt have such luck

You know when you have a bad day and you have to imagine being in your «happy place». Well this is my happy place. I used to own a little cottage a couple miles down red road from here, and when I was in the area this was pretty much on the daily agenda. This place is nothing short of beautiful, a true gift from Pele. This is where my son learned to swim, probably ruining swimming everywhere else for life. I have seen dolphins and whales swim by. There is something remarkably soothing about swimming in mother natures hot tub while gazing into the beauty of the Pacific. If you are in the area or close to the area, do your self a favor and stop by. Leave all your worries behind.

The day I went, the ocean waves were really strong and diluted the pool temperature to well under 80 degrees. There were a few people who were swimming around — one guy wearing snorkeling gear. A very scenic location and great for taking photos. There was a local guy selling fresh coconuts for $ 2.50 and practicing yoga. When we returned to our car, someone had left two palm roses on our windshield. Definitely felt the Aloha spirit that day! :)

Safe protected volcanically thermally heated pond, good place for the very young, the infirm, or the very old to get in the water. Refreshed by an ocean inlet. Lifeguard even.
If the ocean is rough it won’t be very warm, because the seawater will break more into the pond.
Signs warn you that the water is natural, not sanitized, filtered or chlorinated in any way… It’s a nice warm temperature to grow bacteria… Did i mention there are a lot of little kids, the elderly, and the infirm in the water?.. .So don’t swim if you have any open cuts and don’t swallow the water. Just my advice.
No changing room, but there IS one oddly placed fresh water shower back in the lawn area. You have to search for it.
The park area itself was friendly and funky with an art group painting in one pavilion and another guy selling fresh cut coconuts with a drinking straw for $ 2.50 from his car trunk, in between playing his flute. The fresh coconut water was delicious.
In-​park parking was crowded and spots were at a premium… Parking outside the fence looked seriously more vulnerable to theft… We waited for an official space to open up. Enjoyed our visit.

I completely disagree with the previous three star review. Sorry, but no way. This was AMAZING!!!
Yes, it’s a natural spring so, like other natural ponds, rivers, oceans, lakes, etc., it will be cloudy. However, when I went, it was perfectly clear, about 40 feet of snorkeling visibility. It was like warm bath water. Only in Hawaii is the air colder outside of the water :)
There are nice handrails to help you get into the hot spring. They give you a ledge to sit on if you want to snooze or relax. Overall it’s pretty flat on the bottom to walk around on but I’d recommend some goggles or snorkel so you don’t stub your toe on a random boulder. Keep in mind, although they made it look nice, it’s still a natural spring.
Kinda cool but if you look closely, someone moved a number of boulders to spell ‘ALOHA’ on the floor of the spring. It’s a cool little thing that I’m sure most people miss.
Also, there are porta-​potties but no real bathrooms so some dressed to swim. I made the mistake of bringing my suit then doing the tippy-​toe dance in the porta-​potty trying not to touch the grossness with my bare feet.
This is a five star place, trust me. It’s worth the little drive for sure. Nothing better to just relax and enjoy Hawaii for what it is, this a great place to just kick back and forget about what’s next on the ‘to see’ list.

Take Highway 130 south from Pahoa. When it dead ends at Highway 137, turn right. The Park is located on the left, just past Mile Marker #10.
Getting here was sort of surreal. On the day I went it was raining fairly hard. The road to get here is located maybe 30 – 40 yards away from the ocean. The beach is very flat and there is no retaining wall between the beach and the road. With it raining and high tide coming, the sea water was coming onto the road and it felt like you were driving underwater.
This is a fairly good sized park, with picnic tables, BBQ’s and public restrooms. Inside the park lies one of the natural hot springs located on the island. There is a lifeguard on duty.
The natural hot spring is about a half acre large and is shallow enough in most spots to stand in. The hot spring is built inside of a wall. The water is warmed by volcanic activity below the surface. There is a small walled inlet that allows water from the ocean to cool it down. You may also see fish swimming alongside you within the hot spring. It would probably be ill advised to go swimming in the ocean outside of the hot spring as it is very rocky and turbulent.
The reason why I only gave it 3 stars is that on the day I went, the hot spring was very dirty, but then again, it was raining pretty hard and windy.
(Pics included)