It’s been about five years since I’ve started hiking, and I’ve enjoyed a wide variety of interesting trails and parks. But at the time of writing this blog, my favorite trip so far has to be hiking Captain Cook Monument Trail in Captain Cook, Hawaii.
I mentioned in my previous entry that I love how quickly the ecosystems and terrain can change in Hawaii, and this trail is another great example of the difference a steep elevation change can make.
I should note that this trail is not for the faint of heart for a few reasons. First, this trail has about 1,200 feet of elevation gain…on the way back. So even if you’re an experienced day mountain hiker like me and used to this type of elevation and altitude change, it’s coming at the end of your hike rather than the beginning. This also doesn’t account for the energy you’ll spin at the bottom of the trail, snorkeling. So plan and pack accordingly.
After hiking a bit through the vegetation at the beginning of the trail, you’ll enter the lava flows overlooking the ocean. If you’re lucky, you’ll even spot a few goats picking their way over the rocks.
At the bottom of the trail is the real treat: a beautifully calm cove perfect for snorkeling. You can see there were a fair amount of boats dropping off swimmers here, but I think doing the hike was a much more rewarding way to access the area. Not to mention the water was a great way to cool off and relax before hiking back up to the trail head.
As I mentioned early, the hike back up is fairly intense, so take your time and bring plenty of fluids – and maybe make a stop for a piece of musubi, too! Round trip, this hike is four miles.
AllTrails difficulty rating: hard.
You might be surprised to read that even after this somewhat strenuous trip, that I made a second outing back to Queens Bath in the afternoon with my husband. I’m glad I did – we found old carvings dating back half a century in the lava flows that I missed on my first trip. We also, finally, saw our first sea turtle while snorkeling!
You can read more about my trip to Kona, Hawaii, in my “Looking Back” blog series entry here.