Tucked into the quiet, leafy residential neighborhood of Hawaiian Beaches along Big Island’s rocky and turbulent eastern coastline is Papio Ocean Park – an expansive stretch of green grass framed by a hedgerow of broad-leafed trees and coconut palms.
It’s a breezy, well-manicured refuge of green; a break in the long string of desolate lava cliffs that make up the Puna coastline, and a recreation spot popular among locals for its cool shade and stunning views of the open ocean. The park has a tendency to enjoy clear, sunny weather even on days when the town of Pahoa, located just a few miles uphill from the coast, is blanketed in its typical skies of dark grey clouds. Additionally, the entrance to the stunning scenic coastal drive of impossibly dense jungle known as “Government Beach Road” is located just beyond Papio, where the road narrows and a canopy of branches starts to reach out overhead.
This makes it a sort of waypoint for hikers, cyclists and drivers making their way along Government Beach Road – the last stop along the rocky oceanfront before Kahakai Boulevard takes them upland to Pahoa and Highway 130. Here they can catch one more glimpse of the ocean, and can spread out on picnic blankets and beach towels to rest in the warm sunshine. Even on interminably hot and humid summer days on Big Island’s wet, lush east side, Papio is cool and shady thanks to a constant onshore breeze rolling in off the ocean. On some days, this makes the park many degrees cooler than town, and creates an ideal spot to explore the sometimes-intimidating coastline of jet-black lava in the middle of a Hawaii heat spell.
The explosive roar of waves crashing against the jagged rocks can be mesmerizing during stretches of high surf – a commotion that resonates up the more than 100-foot-high cliff and fills the neighborhood with the sounds of an angry sea. The endless barrage sends clouds of white mist filtering up over top of the trees and spilling through the park, leaving its inhabitants with the distinct taste of salt in their mouths.
Towering lau hala trees with their sharp, serrated ribbon-like leaves flutter and dance with the rising mist, and collect salty droplets that fall back to the forest floor. They’re a curious-looking species found in the mangrove family, with outcroppings of aerial prop roots offering support and exceptionally dense trunks. Hala trees were favored by ancient Hawaiians for the tough fibers in their leaves, which they would use to create mats, baskets, thatch roofs, grass skirts – even sails for their outrigger voyaging canoes.
Papio is a perfect place to take your dog and play fetch with a tennis ball, or to throw a frisbee around without too much fear of losing it. Cars drive very slow along the residential coastal road, which is often scattered with several different groupings of pedestrians. People in the neighborhood seem friendly and exceedingly chilled out, and usually wave to each other while headed either in the direction of Government Beach Road or up Kahakai Boulevard to town.
There’s even a short trail at the far end of the park that takes visitors through a dense patch of jungle strewn with fallen hala leaves, bringing them at last to the very edge of a dizzyingly tall cliff for a view of the windswept, barren and craggy coastline. Posted signs around this viewpoint advise those who venture out to the edge to exercise extreme caution while walking near the narrow and uneven terrain.
Somehow the park’s many plantings of colorful tropical shrubs have survived in this atmosphere of intermittent sea spray, and they feature several mature specimens of croton plants, with their broad, wavy leaves of vivid, psychedelic neon red. They are planted in what looks like a mini amphitheater, with a sturdy bench made of painted black metal and wooden planks situated in the middle. On the other side of the park is a conventional picnic bench, this one a bit more beat up and made of concrete and heavy-duty plastic.
Residents of the Hawaiian Beaches neighborhood manage the park, and enforce a handful of rules including no alcohol, littering or loud music. Pets are allowed at Papio, but their owners are obliged to pick up their waste and properly dispose of it, as reminded by the several signs stating as much posted around the premises. Bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles are welcome in the park, but all cars, motorcycles, four wheelers and mopeds must not go beyond the parking lot.
“Moonwalker”, Papio Park’s Eerie Nighttime Glow, and The Mini-Beaches Nearby
Perhaps the most unique aspect of Papio Ocean Park is the art installation found at the center of its grounds known as “Moonwalker”. This is a painted metallic sculpture of a woman wearing a vibrantly patterned tie-dye shawl, with her back to the ocean and head held high. Those making their way past the park at night will notice an eerie greenish-blue glow coming from the piece, no doubt powered by some camouflaged solar panel nearby. The artist who sculpted the stoic shawl-clad woman is Karen Mortensen, who dedicated her work to the Hawaiian Beaches community on the day of summer solstice back in 2016 as a farewell present.
Just a few hundred feet farther down the road from Papio Park are several seaside pull-off spots for vehicles, which border a rocky beach dotted with towering ironwood trees. Although this adjacent swath of beach isn’t an official extension of Papio, joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists seem to treat it all as one big park, making their way from the grassy lawn down the road to watch the waves in seamless fashion. This is a popular place to watch the sunset among locals, and to set up their white pop-up tents for campfires, picnics and barbecues.
This string of pull-offs are an informal beach park space. It can’t be found on any map, and camping there is generally frowned upon. It more serves as a day-use area, and as a rest-stop on trips heading to attractions farther down Government Beach Road, such as Mermaid Ponds and Lava Highway 132, both of which are featured in their own dedicated articles on this site. It’s also a great place to come watch the waves on high surf days – keep in mind, though, swimming here is virtually unheard of and exceedingly hazardous, as evidenced by the crashing waves that hit the beach and throw around piles of lava boulders the size of engine blocks.
How To Get There
Visiting the expansive green lawns and sometimes frighteningly high ocean cliffs of Papio Ocean Park is pretty easy; from the town of Pahoa head straight downhill toward the ocean. Follow Kahakai Boulevard for a few miles out of town, looping through an S-curve next to an elementary school, and farther east through the neighborhoods of Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Shores. Gradually, the narrow band of deep blue ocean will come into view on the horizon, and grow wider and wider as you progress downhill until the air starts to smell salty and a cool breeze picks up. Turn right onto Papio Street just before the road runs out, and follow it for a few blocks over a series of speed-bumps before the park’s large trees, bright green lawn and colorful art installation come into view on the left-hand side of the road.
Papio Park is open daily from sunrise to sunset. There are unfortunately no amenities, including restrooms or drinking water, at either the park proper or its adjacent stretch of small, rocky beaches right down the road, with just a single portable toilet typically available near the entrance to the park. Roughly three miles past Papio further down Government Beach Road is the parking area and trailhead for Mermaid Ponds – a naturally formed collection of protected tidal pools formed out of massive lava drifts. A few miles after that is the beginning of Lava Highway 132, with its newly built roadway winding through the vast, bleak lavafield left in the wake of the 2018 Lower Puna Eruption, eventually linking back up with the town of Pahoa.
For picnic foods and road snacks, stock up on supplies in Pahoa at the brand new Puna Kai shopping center with its anchor grocery store Malama Market, or at the town’s only health food shop called Island Naturals. About halfway between Pahoa and Papio Park is the small, dusty and very local convenience store called “Da Store” located in Hawaiian Beaches. This is a great place to pick up snacks and drinks, and it’s usually worked by friendly local aunties with a laid-back country general store vibe. Prices here can be a bit higher than in town, but are reasonable for the most part.
