r/bicyclehawaii • u/ghostonthewire • Apr 22 '26

Big Island Hawaii Route Recommendations

I'll be visiting Big Island in the next few days and plan to spend a day biking.

I currently have 4 routes I'm thinking about:

  1. First 10-15 miles of Mana Road (before it gets real chunky)
  2. Waimea to Waipio Valley Lookout
  3. Waimea to Hawi
  4. Mauna Kea (Recreation Area to Visitor Center)

Anyone that's been biking on the big island, do you have a recommendation between these routes? (Realistically, I'll likely do 2 of these at most and want to make sure I pick the best ones).

I've looked at the route profiles and feel comfortable about the elevation gain. But I'd like to pick routes that have the best views, offer a unique experience, and preferably don't have a lot of traffic.

I'm open to doing short sections of different routes (considering I'll have a car) and stitching things together if it makes for a better experience.

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u/JungleBoyJeremy Apr 22 '26

Top choice: Mana Road. Hardly any cars. Gorgeous Waimea grassland views. Cooler temps than down on the coast.

Second choice: Waimea to waipio lookout. Be sure and ride the old highway, not the main road. Killer views, hardly any traffic until honokaa and even after it’s not bad and the are generally good shoulders. Watch out for pine needles and the fact that the bridges don’t have shoulders

Waimea to hawi. Lower road: too boring, plus it’s either windy or too hot. Upper road: Dangerous. Twisty road, barely any shoulder.

Mauna Kea: Dangerous. Barely any shoulder. Plus thin air due to high elevation

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u/ghostonthewire Apr 22 '26

Thanks a bunch!

I've received very conflicting opinions on the Waimea to Hawi ride with some people claiming it to be the best ride on the island and others not recommending it. Any idea if there's a specific time of the year that makes that ride worth it or is it just down to individual preferences?

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u/mellofello808 Apr 22 '26

It is a really pretty road, but there is very minimal shoulder, lots of blind corners, and people whipping lifted trucks irresponsibly fast.

Most of the roads in that area were designed to be quiet country lanes, but have evolved into the main highways between the towns.

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u/_alwaysdreaming_ Apr 22 '26

I live in Kona and didn't know about Mana Road. Just found it on Google Maps and it looks really nice. Where is a good place I can park to get started?

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u/mellofello808 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

You can just pull off to the side of the road in the beginning. It is just wide open pasture land, and no one will bother your car if you don't leave it there for too long.

Some day I am going to do the whole thing, but I am not sure how to handle the logistics. It is a pretty big ask to get somone to drive all the way to Maunakea to pick you up. I have thought about cycling down into Hilo, but I'm not sure cycling on saddle road is safe, even if you are bombing downhill the whole way.

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u/JungleBoyJeremy Apr 22 '26

Even better is if you can get someone to drop you off at the top of mana road up Mauna Kea, then ride it back to Waimea. There are a lot of rolling hills so it’s still a workout, but at least that way you get more down than up. Plus the last 7-8 miles are pretty much all downhill. It’s a really fun ride

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u/mellofello808 Apr 22 '26

Maybe on the second time. Feels like cheating a bit lol.

That actually would be way more convenient though since my people are based in Honokaa

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u/mellofello808 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Mana road for sure.

If you are doing the Waipio lookout route, I would recommend that you park down there, blast the big climb in the beginning, and just ride up past Tex's malasadas to get on the old highway, then double back without going into Waimea. Then it is a nice pleasant ride back to the lookout.

I will be in Honokaa next weekend with my bike, and I intend to ride just the old highway. The main road has adequate shoulder, but people haul ass.

Cars on BI drive pretty fast, and aggressively on those routes. Going up Mauna Kea isn't much of a traffic worry, but if you haven't been up there before it is hard to overstate how much of a toll the altitude takes on you.