My husband and I are headed to Hawaii and will be staying in Kona for a few days and then heading to another island. In Kona, we are staying on Kailua Bay. Is it okay to run down Ali’i Drive? Any other route suggestions?
Running on Ali’i drive is ok. Just get out in the morning so the sidewalks are empty. Then you will be fine. I have only stayed in Kona at the start or end of trips to the Big Island so never looked for another route. Others may know of routes close.
On Kauai you have the Kapa’a hike and bike trail. About 7.5 miles along the coast.
There is a good paved shoulder to the right of the white line for most of the way along Alii drive - it does vary in width from wider to a few chock points where it is much narrower. I would run as per, the general rule for pedestrians of facing traffic - so on the left side of the road now. This will allow you to look out for car traffic as well as bike traffic that will also be using that strip and give you a chance to get out of the cyclists way.
Will you have a car when you’re on the Big Island? If so two of my favorite places to run there are:
Along the top of the Kohala Mountain Road. You’ll need to be comfortable running on a shoulder covered with pine needles.
To the Green Sand Beach from the southern tip of the island. There’s a dirt road to the beach from the end of the paved road. It’s about two miles. Your shoes will be covered with red sand when you’re done.
Enjoy your trip!
For Kona, as mentioned, run Ali’i. If you want to run up Palani to the Queen K and out towards the energy lab you can, but it’s more to experience the course since it’s not very scenic.
For Kauai, where are you staying? The answer is going to be different if you’re in Lihue vs. Princeville.
Aloha,
I’ve done all of these runs on Kona so I know they are good.
- Ali’i Drive - no problem to run. Lots of car traffic. I stay on mauka side of the road out and back in the morning since it is shady and the road is sloped a lot on both sides. You can go further past Keauhou up the short hill to Ali’i Hwy too. Unless you like heat and humidity run early morning and wear your sunscreen.
- Lako St - Start just north of Shell station (Hwy 11 and Lako) on paved path (Walua Trail) which will turn into Walua Road. Go as far as you desire south but max one-way is 4 miles. Going south is uphill all the way. Very quiet and no traffic.
- Ane Keohokalole - Also known as Kealakehe High School or middle road run. Start at high school either side of street (makai side is better) and go north and south. Panoramic view of coastline and slightly cooler due to elevation. No traffic to contend with.
- Old Airport Road - From Kailua Bay go up Palani Rd hill make left on Kuakini Hwy and run past aquatic center, soccer field, and then to old airport runway road. There’s a walking path you can run around there too. If you want a little sand and lava run, you can run past the airport road along coast to old Mamalahoa Trail road, make left and run to water then back. Short and sweet or you can make it part of an Ali’i Dr run.
I recommend aquatic center for swim (it’s free!).
If you are into hiking please see http://www.bigislandhikes.com
I’ve done 50% of these hikes. Pretty much all of the Kona-side hikes. Some of these hikes can be run as well but will all be trail runs.
Enjoy!
For Kona, as mentioned, run Ali’i. If you want to run up Palani to the Queen K and out towards the energy lab you can, but it’s more to experience the course since it’s not very scenic.
For Kauai, where are you staying? The answer is going to be different if you’re in Lihue vs. Princeville.
I live on the east coast of the US, so when we go to Hawaii I’m up so freaking early there are limited cars on the road. So, I’ll just run up the Queen K using the very wide shoulder.
On Kauai, as Titanflexr mentioned, where are you staying? We usually stay at the Hyatt when we are there, and I run from the hotel. Again, if super early AM, very few cars out and it’s easy to run the roads. Just make sure to bring a headlamp. I think part of the Kauai Marathon course is near the Hyatt as well
Thank you all for the recommendations! We were planning on hiking to the green beach, so maybe we will make that a run instead. We are also planning on a swim at the Kona Aquatics Center. We are from the US east coast too - so I am sure we will be up super early. On Kauai, we are staying in Poipu/Koala Landing - I believe that is close to the Hyatt.
pgheffernan, have you ran on Mana RD near Waimea? I’ve read it’s a good place to run but there’s not a lot of info about it. Also, it’s very very windy in the Waikoloa resort area the past two days so I thought going up to Waimea (Mana RD area) might be less windy (hopefully). Thanks
We have a timeshare in Poipu. It is very easy to get in runs from your location. Run on Poipu Road all the way past Spouting Horn and back. Round trip of roughly 8m. Minimal traffic, great views.
We have a timeshare in Poipu. It is very easy to get in runs from your location. Run on Poipu Road all the way past Spouting Horn and back. Round trip of roughly 8m. Minimal traffic, great views.
Poipu also has a great trail that runs along the cliffs and shore - pretty technical in spots. When we were there in 2018 I did all of my running on those trails - my shoes turned nice and red!
I have not run Mana Rd. Too far to drive from Kailua-Kona for a run.
We have a timeshare in Poipu. It is very easy to get in runs from your location. Run on Poipu Road all the way past Spouting Horn and back. Round trip of roughly 8m. Minimal traffic, great views.
Poipu also has a great trail that runs along the cliffs and shore - pretty technical in spots. When we were there in 2018 I did all of my running on those trails - my shoes turned nice and red!
There’s a series of red dirt roads that runs north and east of the Hyatt that were part of the former sugar cane mill. Miles and miles of them - you might have to cross some gates. One sight worth seeing / running through is the old cane tunnel that cuts through the Kaupu Ridge:
https://www.thegardenisland.com/2013/02/24/lifestyles/the-haupu-range-tunnel/. You might want to have a light with you - it’s about 400m long, so quite dark in the middle. It’s a longish run to get there and get through it (plan on at least 8 miles). It’s been a few years since I’ve done it; your only company back then was the occasional ATV caravan.
Ian