[Ryan Coke]

I haven’t ridden very many areas there, but I have ridden out of the Waikoloa are several times. While I totally get the desire to stay off the queen K highway, and I usually opt for quieter roads, the ride on that up to Hawi is my preferred route.

That first section of the Queen K highway is somewhat busy, but the shoulder is massive, like basically a full lane most of the time. Then once you get on Kawaihae Rd (don’t ride that going right, I did it once and it sucked, follow it to the left) the road progressively gets quieter. By the time you get to Hawi (and past it) it is not busy at all.

The evolution of the climate zones and geology on that route is impressive….from hot and black lava fields, slowly getting greener, to eventually almost rain forest past Hawi.

Also there is a great coffee shop for food and drink there, and I always like a destination with good food.