Traveling back from Akaka Falls State Park to Hilo, we were on the lookout for The Donkey Trail at Onomea Bay in Papaikou. Most of the drive is along the spectacular Hamakua Coast. The drive along Mamalahoa Highway is beautiful and unnerving at the same time, blind turns, one lane bridges, and narrow roads. We drove the complete Hamakua Coastline later in our trip. Today our goal was to find the pull out, generous use of the word, to hike down The Donkey Trail to the shoreline of Onomea Bay.
Heading south from the falls we knew the trail was right after the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, the 10 or so cars smashed up against side of the road, also gave away the spot. We were traveling off season, it would be tough to come across parking here during peak season. We were able to pull over right across from the trail. Parking is between curves in the road, so caution is necessary when making your mad dash across the street. The view is spectacular and worth the harrowing drive.
The stunning view at the top on Onomea Bay at The Donkey Trail
This is a view from the top of Onomea Bay at the start of the Donkey Trail. The trail is short, .5 miles, but very steep. There are handrails at the beginning of the trail, which is the steepest part. It was over 90 degrees the day we were here and we were very thankful for the man selling bottles of water out of a cooler on the side of the road. We bought our water before beginning the trail, knowing we would want to drink it as we were making the climb back up.
Shoreline of Onomea Bay
At the bottom of the trail you enter a little cove, covered by trees, ferns and plants, which ends with a black pebble shoreline. It is a nice respite from the sun, which shines down on you for almost the entire hike.
This is the view from the end of Donkey Trail
The ocean had so many different shades of blue, it was gorgeous to behold. The waves continually rolling in were mesmerizing to watch. The cliff you see covered in vegetation is the top of the trail.
Waves Crashing at Onomea Bay
This is definitely not an area to swim in, just a place to watch the power of the ocean as it crashes into the rocks jutting out of the ocean. The total time spent here was around 30 minutes, less than 10 to walk down, at least 10 trying to time the waves crashing on the rocks as the background for family pictures (I did manage to get one perfectly timed splash behind my kids), and 10-15 minutes walking back up. The gentleman selling the water bottles had packed up and left by the time we made the return trip, so if you see him and you need water, buy before you go down.
My kids added to the collection of cairns where the trail meets the ocean.
After my young adult children were finished stacking rocks, we headed back up the trail and off to dinner before heading up to Mauna Kea to watch the sunset and stargaze. We all loved this little trail, the view was phenomenal for little effort…especially compared to some of the other hikes we took. If you can find parking, I would definitely make the hike down and savor the moment. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
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