ʻAkaka Falls
ʻAkaka Falls is a waterfall in Hawaiʻi, at a modelled elevation of 345 m. Mauna Kea stands 4,205 m to the west, 20 miles off. The nearest named place is Kahuna Falls, a waterfall 0.3 miles away.
The story
ʻAkaka Falls State Park is a state park on Hawaiʻi Island, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The park is about 11 miles (18 km) north of Hilo, west of Honomū off the Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) at the end of Hawaii Route 220. It includes its namesake ʻAkaka Falls, a 442-foot (135 m) tall waterfall. ʻAkaka is named after Chief 'Akaka-o-ka-nī'au-oi'o-i-ka-wao, grandson of Kūlanikapele and Kīakalohia. The accessible portion of the park lies high on the right shoulder of the deep gorge into which the waterfall plunges, and the falls can be viewed from several points along a loop trail through the park. Also visible from this trail is Kahūnā Falls, a 300-foot (91 m) tall waterfall, and several smaller cascades.
Local folklore describes a stone here called Pōhaku a Pele that, when struck by a branch of lehua ʻāpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall. Lehua ʻāpane or ʻōhiʻa ʻāpane is an ʻōhiʻa tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with dark red blossoms. ʻAkaka Falls is located on Kolekole Stream. A large stone in the stream about 70 feet (21 m) upstream of the falls is called Pōhaku o Kāloa.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q2561534, matched on coordinates and name (394 m apart).
What the record says
- Height
- 135 m
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Kaʻuku: 1.5 mi
- Kānoa: 3.2 mi
- Nanamauna Cone: 6.3 mi
- Puʻuloa: 9.7 mi
- Kupapaʻu Hill: 10.1 mi
- Honomu Park: 3.0 mi
- Kolekole Beach Park: 3.1 mi
- Hakalau Veterans Park: 3.2 mi
- Waikamaulo Park: 5.5 mi
- Kaiwiki Park: 6.9 mi
- Kahuna Falls: 0.3 mi
- Hakalau Stream: 1.6 mi
- Kawainui Falls: 4.1 mi
- Onomea Waterfall: 4.9 mi
- Wai‘alae Falls: 6.7 mi
- Wailepua Spring: 7.0 mi
- Kapehu Springs: 8.8 mi
- Kapehu Springs: 8.8 mi
- Kaūmana Springs: 10.0 mi
- Kaūmana Springs: 10.0 mi
- Dan J. Lutkenhouse: 4.9 mi
- Naha Stone: 9.9 mi
- Kamehameha: 10.5 mi
- Vietnam War Memorial: 10.6 mi
- Tsunami Memorial: 10.6 mi
- Onomea Museum: 4.9 mi
- Kenyan K. Beale Community Robotics Center: 9.8 mi
- Pacific Tsunami Museum: 9.9 mi
- East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center: 9.9 mi
- Lyman Museum: 10.0 mi
- Skyline Eco Adventures: 3.0 mi
- Boiling Pots: 9.7 mi
- Laupahoehoe Point Tsunami Memorial: 11.1 mi
- Kaumana Caves: 11.6 mi
- Macadamia Nut Visitor Center: 16.6 mi
- Hawaiʻi Tropical Botanical Garden: 5.1 mi
- 'Imiloa Garden: 11.4 mi
- Botanical Gardens University of Hawai'i Hilo: 11.5 mi
- Hilo Nursery Arboretum: 11.5 mi
- Honoli‘i Beach: 8.0 mi
- Ha'ena Beach: 18.3 mi
- Laupāhoehoe: 10.5 mi
- Waiakea: 12.7 mi
- Kū: 5.0 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 20.8 miles of ʻAkaka Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauna Kea | W 264° | 4,205 m | 20.4 mi |
| Puʻukea | W 265° | 4,173 m | 20.4 mi |
| Puʻuhauʻoki | W 265° | 4,160 m | 20.6 mi |
| Puʻuhaukea | W 263° | 4,098 m | 20.7 mi |
| Puʻumāhoe | W 267° | 4,004 m | 19.8 mi |
| Puʻulīlīnoe | W 261° | 3,959.45 m | 19.9 mi |
| Puʻupoepoe | W 266° | 3,855 m | 18.8 mi |
| Puʻuala | W 268° | 3,844 m | 18.7 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:25 | 18:03 | 18:32 |
| June solstice | 05:43 | 18:31 | 19:03 |
| September equinox | 06:10 | 17:49 | 18:18 |
| December solstice | 06:52 | 17:15 | 17:47 |
Local time (Pacific/Honolulu).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 69 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 70 |
| Precip in | 10.4 | 12.6 | 17.3 | 14.6 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 12.0 | 16.8 | 7.3 | 11.0 | 16.2 | 15.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Kihalani 132.5, 10 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Feb–Apr, Nov–Dec — fullest in Mar, leanest in Jun.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 115 | 121 | 180 | 167 | 90.8 | 63.9 | 99.9 | 116 | 78.1 | 84.1 | 173 | 150 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Honolii Stream nr Papaikou, HI, 6 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap element node/2268400413
Day trips start here
- Hilo · 10 mi
- Big Island · 27 mi
Take the scenic way to ʻAkaka Falls.
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