Hawaii Car Rentals – The Drive to South Point (Ka Lae)

There are a few intriguing reasons why a person might want to drive to South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii. First of all, located at 18˚54’38” North, 155˚40’41” West, it is the most southern point in the United States of America. South Point also carries a National Historic Landmark District designation. It is also said that this is the place where the first Tahitians landed and went on to populate the Hawaiian Islands.

In my opinion, this drive is for people that are active and want to get out and hike around. It is not good for people that want to kick back and relax. You can take out of either Kona or Hilo, but Kona is closer. On the southern end of the island, located on Highway 11, there is a little village known as Naalehu. Naalehu is 2.2 square miles and had a population of 919 in 2000. 7 miles to the west, or Kona side, you will find the turn off to South Point Road.

South Point Road is a little under 20 miles long. The road is a one lane, tarmac road which is easily drivable but not well maintained. It starts off slow as all you see for the first several miles are the Christmas Berry trees blowing in the steady trade winds. The next site of interest you will see is the Kamaoa Wind Farm.

Taking advantage of the steady trade winds, these Mitsubishi windmills generate 15,000-MWh of power to the island’s electrical grid. It is fun to stop here, turn off the engine and just listen. The air feels alive with a humming energy. While you are stopped here, you should look out for day-flying owls. These are an endangered species but are seen fairly often here gliding above the fields. According to Hawaiian legend, seeing the owls is said to be good luck.

After about a half hour, you will arrive at a fork in the road.

The right fork leads you to a favorite fishing spot for locals. The cliffs here are almost vertical and the fishermen haul their catch up with ropes. There is a very large blowhole near the cliffs which makes for wonderful photos. For you history buffs, you can find large holes bored vertically into the lava rock. These were created by ancient Hawaiians and were used as canoe moorings. To the West, you can see more modern boat hoists dotting the cliff edge. Folks have been seen diving into the sea off of the cliffs here but that practice is highly dangerous as the strong current head directly out to sea.

The left fork leads you to Green Sands Beach. The sand here is filled with green olivine crystals which leads to it’s name. After taking the left fork, you will come to a loosely designated parking area. In the past, there have been locals here suggesting you pay them money to make sure your car is safe. If they do, it’s not a bad idea to take them up on this. I haven’t heard of this happening for some time now though.

As I mentioned above, this trip is not for folks that simply want to relax in the sun. After you park, there is about a 2 mile hike to reach the beach. The walk is relatively flat and easy is you have good walking shoes on. Once there, you actually have to climb down into the beach. Once there, Green Sands Beach is pretty special. The green sand is nestled between red, eroded cliff walls. There is one spot where the cliffs have begun to erode and now form a natural slide which some of the kids like to slide down.

All in all, the drive to South Point will be a different experience than any other you will have on the island. It’s natural beauty almost reminds one of the Southwest while it’s 100’s of years of history add to the depth of the experience. Oh by the way, here is the southern most point of the United States of America:

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