'Akaka Falls State Park

How to Get There

From Hilo, HI (15 mi): Drive north on HI-19 for about 11 miles, turn left onto Highway 220 (ʻAkaka Falls Road), and continue 3.6 miles to the park entrance at the end of the road.

Overview

'Akaka Falls State Park is a state park on Hawai'i Island, in 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 'Akaka Falls, a 442-foot (135 m) tall waterfall. 'Akaka 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 'āpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall. Lehua 'āpane or 'ōhi'a 'āpane is an 'ōhi'a tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with dark red blossoms.

'Akaka 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.

Wildlife

The 'o'opu 'alamo'o is an endemic Hawaiian species of goby fish that spawns in stream above the waterfall, but matures in the sea. These fish have a suction disk on their bellies that allows them to cling to the wet rocks behind and adjacent to the waterfall. Using this disk, they climb back up to the stream when it is time to spawn. A shrimp called the 'ōpaekala'ole has also evolved to climb 'Akaka Falls and live in Kolekole Stream.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "'Akaka Falls State Park", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0