Anna Ranch runs house tours Tuesday and Thursday only, at 10:00 am and 1:15 pm, five guests maximum, $20 per adult. Waimea sits at close to 3,000 feet and grew up around what was once the largest privately owned ranch in the country. Two farmers markets run at Pukalani Stables alone, Wednesdays from 8:30 am and Saturdays 7:30 am to 1 pm.
Most itineraries treat Waimea as the staging town for a Waipiʻo Valley hike. That is no longer legal: a county emergency rule has barred all pedestrians from the road since February 2022, and driving down is limited to county residents, permitted operators, and Native Hawaiians exercising traditional rights, so a rented 4WD will not get you there. The shuttle is the only way in: 105 minutes, $67.
Table of contents
- Activities and attractions that are specific to Waimea. Think of visiting the Parker Ranch, farmers markets, learning how to make a Lei, or visiting the local brewpub.
- The more general outdoor activities that you can enjoy around Waimea
For a shorter list, here are our favorite Waimea activities.
Activities and Attractions in Waimea
Waimea’s in-town activities run on tight schedules. The ranch tours go two days a week, the markets are Wednesday and Saturday, and nothing much is open before the brewpub at 11. Ranch history is the through-line, and the food and farm culture built around it fills a day before you head for the valleys or the coast.
Big Island Brewhaus (and Mexican food)
Tom and Jayne Kerns bought Tako Taco Taqueria in Waimea in August 2008 and opened the brewery behind it on March 4, 2011. At 2,764 feet it’s the highest brewpub in Hawaiʻi. The beer is brewed on site, and the kitchen now pulls from Mexican, Hawaiian and Asian cooking. Open daily, 11 am to 9 pm.
Read more about the Big Island Brewhaus.
Private Lei making classes
Mōhalu Hawaiʻi runs private lei-making classes in Waimea that go into the cultural depth of the practice: which styles exist, which flowers and foliage belong to each, and what giving a lei means in Hawaiʻi.
All materials are provided and you leave with the lei you made. Sessions are private and priced by group size, starting at $85 for one person and $165 for two.
More on the Mōhalu Hawaiʻi website.
Parker Ranch and Anna Ranch: Hawaiian Cowboy History
Parker Ranch was, at its peak, the largest privately owned ranch in the United States, and the Waimea area still carries that history in its layout and economy. The ranch now runs horseback riding excursions through its lands: read more about the Parker Ranch in Waimea.
The nearby Anna Ranch, another property from the same era, runs historic house tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 am and 1:15 pm, covering the history of paniolo life in Hawaiʻi and tracing it back to the time of King Kamehameha I. It’s $20 per adult and $10 per keiki, reservations are required, and the tour caps at five guests, so book about three days ahead.
Go to the Anna Ranch website for more information.
The Anna Ranch. Photo courtesy of love looks like photography.
Waimea Farmers Markets
The Waimea Community Market is in front of Parker School on Lindsey Road every Saturday from 7:30 am to noon, and the Waimea Town Market reopened on that same site. Pukalani Stables runs two of its own: the Kamuela Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 am to 1 pm, and a midweek market on Wednesdays from 8:30 am. The Saturday markets sit close enough together to do two in one morning.
Read more about all of them in our Farmers markets in Waimea overview.
The Kamuela Farmers market at the historic Pukalani Stables. Image courtesy of the Kamuela Farmers Market.
Farm Tours and Tastings: Hāmākua Coast
The Hāmākua coast between Waimea and Hilo is home to working vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and tea farms that offer tours and tastings, and some offer the option to plant a native tree. The taro loʻi on the Waipiʻo Valley floor are still farmed, but with the road closed to visitors there’s no farm visit down there to book.
Read more about the Farm Tours near Waimea.
A Cacao farm tour at the Honokaʻa Chocolate Co close to Waimea. Next to a tour of the cacao orchard you also get to taste a variety of their own chocolate and other local products. Image credit: Sarah Anderson Photography.
Outdoor Activities in and around Waimea
At nearly 3,000 feet, Waimea puts ocean beaches 30 minutes to the west and the Kohala valleys 30 minutes to the north. The night skies here are among the clearest on the island.
ATV Tours
The ATV tours near Waimea run through private Kohala land with no other public access: forested ridgelines, sea cliffs, historic sites, and waterfalls on routes of 10 or more miles. Two operators run tours from the area.
All About the View UTV Farm Tour near Waipiʻo Valley
The gentlest tour on the Big Island ATV list: a guide-led UTV ride across a working Hāmākua ranch with fruit sampling, tilapia ponds, and a cliff-top ocean stop. No mud pit, no speed.
from:
$175
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Read more about the ATV Tours near Waimea.
Beaches
White sand to the west, black sand to the north. The Kohala coast has the long white beaches, about 30 minutes out. The valleys of Waipiʻo and Pololū hold black sand at their floors, and only Pololū’s can be walked to.
Read more about the Beaches around Waimea.
The black sand beach on the Waipiʻo Valley floor. Image credit: Georgios Tsiminis
Golfing
Roughly half the golf courses on the Big Island are within an hour of Waimea, concentrated along the Kohala and Kona coasts.
Read more about Golf courses near Waimea.
Hiking
Waimea is the closest town to both Waipiʻo Valley and Pololū Valley, the two deepest valleys on this side of the island. Pedestrians have been barred from Waipiʻo Valley Road since February 2022, so there the overlook is as far as you get. Pololū is the one you can still walk into: the black sand beach at its floor is reachable on a trail we list among our favorite short hikes on the island.
View of the Pololū black sand beach and the dramatic cliffs in the direction of Waipiʻo Valley
Horseback riding
Ranches around Waimea run guided horseback tours across their pastures, with wide-open views of the coastline and Mauna Kea. Some tours also go beyond the ranch perimeter to explore Waipiʻo Valley and other parts of the island.
Learn more about horseback riding on the Big Island.
A group on a horseback riding tour in Waipiʻo Valley. Photo credit: Mike Neenan
Luau and Hula Performances
A luau puts local food, music and hula into one evening. Some venues near Waimea also run free hula performances if you would rather skip the dinner and the full show.
Mauna Kea Luau: Oceanfront Setting on Kaunaʻoa Bay
The best food we've had at a Big Island luau, with sunset views over Kauna'oa Bay from the oceanfront lawn of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
from:
$256
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Read about all your options to visit Luau and Hula shows.
Stargazing near Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea rises to nearly 14,000 feet about 25 miles from town. Driving to the summit needs a 4WD of your own. Guided stargazing tours handle the drive instead and stop below the summit, which is the easier route and the one most visitors take.
Maunakea Summit, Sunset, and Stargazing Tour
A small-group tour from Kona to the 13,796-foot summit of Maunakea: dinner at 9,200 feet, sunset above the cloud layer, and a private star show with an 11-inch telescope. Saturn, Jupiter, and the Milky Way on a clear night. 8 to 9 hours.
from:
$315
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Read more about Stargazing on the Big Island.
Scuba Diving
Diving the Kohala coast means clearer water and steadier conditions than the windward side, without the long drive down to Kona. The shore is about 30 minutes from town.
Read more about Scuba Diving.
Snorkeling
Coral grows right along the lava shoreline here, so most Kohala spots are swum from the sand rather than from a boat. That is the practical difference from Kona, and the beaches are 30 minutes west of town.
Find out more about Snorkeling spots close to Waimea.
The half-mile Mauna Kea Beach has good snorkeling next to the rocky points at either end of the beach if the water is calm. Credit: Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau (IHVB) / Tyler Schmitt
Petroglyphs
Two petroglyph fields sit west of town, at Waikoloa and Puakō. The Puakō preserve holds around 3,000 carvings across 233 acres and is reached on foot through Holoholokai Beach Park. Some date to the 16th century, roughly the era of first European contact in the Pacific.
Petroglyphs in the Waikoloa Field. Carved into volcanic rock, the earliest of these carvings are centuries old.
Pololū Valley
Pololū Valley is the northernmost of the valleys carved into the Kohala coastline and has the most accessible lookout. Most people come to hike down to the black sand beach on the valley floor. The viewpoint at the trailhead is a stop in its own right if you are not hiking. Several stops nearby make it easy to build a half-day Kohala road trip around the visit.
Read more about visiting Pololū Valley.
Pololū Valley is one of the valleys cut into the Kohala coastline.
Waipiʻo Valley
Waipiʻo Valley was historically home to Hawaiian kings and among the most settled places on the island. Today it holds taro fields, a couple dozen residents, and a black sand beach at its floor. The valley is roughly one mile wide and six miles deep. The road down is closed to all pedestrians, and driving it is limited to county residents, permitted operators and Native Hawaiians exercising traditional rights. The Waipio Valley Shuttle is how everyone else reaches the floor, 105 minutes for $67.
Read more about visiting Waipiʻo valley.
Waipiʻo Valley is a place like nowhere else we’ve been. The taro loʻi on the floor are still farmed, but the road down is closed to visitors on foot and to private vehicles.
Waterfalls
The cliffs above Waipiʻo Valley hold Hiʻilawe Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls on the Big Island, visible from the valley floor. Several smaller waterfalls in the Kohala mountains are swimmable, and tours stop at them for a dip: see the Kohala waterfall adventure.
Read more about waterfalls on the Big Island.
The Hiʻilawe falls (center left) are best visible from within Waipiʻo Valley. Image credit: Georgios Tsiminis
Ziplining
The Kohala volcano forests near Waimea have the best terrain for ziplining on the island. Kohala Zipline rebuilt its course here: five lines and two sky bridges, plus a spiral staircase built around a tree trunk. The full-day zip and dip package adds lunch, a short hike and a swim under a private waterfall.
Kohala Canopy Zipline Adventure
Zip to a cliffside platform, then cross a sky bridge beside a waterfall. Five lines, two bridges, nine guests, and you control your own speed.
from:
$155
What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.Read more about Ziplining near Waimea.
Twin ziplines with Kohala Ziplines