Hawaii County

The county in brief

A traveler's read on Hawaii County

Thirty-three thousand five hundred feet from oceanic base to summit makes Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii the tallest mountain on Earth measured from base to peak — surpassing Everest's 29,032-ft base-to-summit by over 4,000 ft, though only 13,803 ft of Mauna Kea breaks the sea surface. The Mauna Kea summit holds 13 of the world's largest professional astronomical telescopes (including the Keck I and Keck II 10-meter twins, the Subaru 8.2-meter, the Gemini North 8.1-meter, the Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6-meter, and the future Thirty Meter Telescope whose construction has been halted since 2019 by ongoing Native Hawaiian protests over the cultural sanctity of the summit) per the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy roster. Hawaii County's 4,029 sq mi (the largest US 'county equivalent' by area in the State of Hawaii) wrap the entire Big Island including 4 NPS units: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Kīlauea + Mauna Loa), Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park.

Kīlauea has erupted in 13 of the last 50 years per USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's eruption chronology, with the most recent eruption (September 2023) following a brief 2018 pause that ended the longest-running historical continuous eruption (35 years 1983-2018) per HVO records. Nāmakanipaio Campground inside HAVO (operated by Hawaii Volcanoes Lodge Company, not NPS, under a concession agreement) accepts rigs to 30 ft on cabin-and-tent sites with no RV hookups. Kulanaokuaiki Campground (NPS-operated, 9 sites, no hookups, no reservations, first-come basis) accepts rigs to 25 ft only. Hawaii Volcanoes NP enforces a 14-day maximum stay across all developed campgrounds per NPS Compendium §1.5. Hilo (population 43,263, the county seat on the wet east side) and Kailua-Kona (population 11,975, the dry west-side hub) anchor the island's commercial infrastructure. Both Hilo and Kailua-Kona municipalities prohibit overnight RV street parking under county ordinance. RV rental availability on Hawaii is extremely limited — most visitors fly in and rent only passenger vehicles. The Saddle Road (HI-200) crosses between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea at 6,632 ft, paved its full 53-mile length since 2017 completion.