Akaka Falls State Park

‘Akaka Falls State Park is a state park in Hawai‘i, located 11 miles north from Hilo (at the end of County Rte. 22) on the Island of Hawai‘i. It includes ‘Akaka Falls, the Big Island's tallest waterfall at 442 ft. tall. ‘Akaka is the Hawaiian name for this feature. 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 stone located here and called Pōhaku a Pele, when struck by a branch of lehua ‘āpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall (Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini, 1974). Lehua ‘āpane or ‘ō‘hia ‘āpane is an ‘ō‘hia tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with dark red blossoms.

‘Akaka Falls is located on Kolekole Stream. A large stone in the stream about 70 ft upstream of the falls is called Pōhaku o Kāloa (Pukui, Elbert, & Mookini, 1974).

See also: List of Hawaii state parks

External Link

Photos of Akaka Falls State Park - Terra Galleria

Reference

• Pukui, Mary Kawena, Samuel H. Elbert, and Esther T. Mookini. 1974. Place Names of Hawaii. The University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu. 289 pp. (ISBN 0824805240)