Scenic byway, Island of Hawaiʻi · Hawaii

Kaʻū Scenic Byway - The Slopes of Maunaloa

54 miles of Highway 11 around the slopes of Maunaloa through Kaʻū, past lava fields and Punaluʻu's black sand beach to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

Also known as Highway 11 (Hawaiʻi Belt Road)

Along the Kaʻū Scenic Byway - The Slopes of Maunaloa

Photo: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

  • Length54 miles[1]
  • Drive timeNot verified
  • RoadsHighway 11 (Hawaiʻi Belt Road)[1]
  • Start and endAround the base of Maunaloa to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (the Kahuku section and the main entrance)[1]
  • Fees and passesNot verified
  • Best seasonNot verified
  • SurfaceNot verified
  • Vehicle notesNot verified
  • Seasonal closuresNot verified

Before you go

Road status and weather can change quickly. Check the official road-conditions link before you go.

Facts last checked against the sources on October 22, 2026.

About the drive

The Kaʻū Scenic Byway follows Highway 11, the Hawaiʻi Belt Road, for 54 miles around the base of Maunaloa through the Kaʻū district. It links the Kona side to two parts of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park: the Kahuku section and the park's main entrance.

Along the way are lava fields, the Kahuku section of the national park, the 1,000-year-old Kula Kai Caverns, the Honuʻapo coastal overlook and Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach.

We haven't verified a route line for this byway yet, so the map shows the stops only.

Stops along the way

  1. Kahuku Unit

    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park's Kahuku section on the slopes of Mauna Loa.

    Official information · 19.0591, -155.67566

  2. Honuʻapo

    Bay and coastal overlook on Highway 11.

    Official information · 19.08007, -155.55052

  3. Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach

    Black sand beach on the Kaʻū coast.

    Official information · 19.13591, -155.50447

  4. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park entrance

    The byway ends at the park's main entrance.

    Official information · 19.42865, -155.25453

Stops are listed in order along the route; the numbers match the map. Stop locations come from the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey place-names database, the stop's own official page or, where noted in the data, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

Sources

  1. Island of Hawaiʻi Scenic Byways (Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, GoHawaii) (checked 2026-10-22)
  2. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (NPS) (checked 2026-10-22)
  3. Route line: U.S. DOT scenic byways map service (geo.dot.gov), retrieved 2026-10-22.

Written by VanillaGoods from the cited official sources. This is a drive to know, not a ranking. Road status and weather can change quickly; check the official road-conditions link before you go.

Spot something out of date? Email help@vanillagoods.com (help@vanillagoods.com).

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