Ka'alu'alu Road Run
A moderately flat 4wd road run from Waiohinu to the sea
While we were staying in Waiohinu (a small town neighboring better-known Na’alehu), this become a go-to for an easy, regular after-work run.
The dirt section of the road starts at the end of a small subdivision about a mile from Highway 11. Park on the grass strip on the side of the road near the of the pavement. While we never encountered any scary dogs on the dirt section of the road, we did encounter a couple of loose dogs that didn’t cotton to passing runners in the neighborhood on the paved part of the road.
A spraypaint-scrawled sign at the start of the dirt exclaims “NOT A DUMP ROAD”. At first I thought this meant that this was not access to the Waiohinu transfer station up the highway – but later realized that “dump road” is a local phenomenon, a road along which you dump unneeded cars, mattresses, furniture, etc. And the first couple of this miles provide testament to this, with a dense assortment of dead vehicles and appliances.
The path is thickly lined with bean trees and shrubs; views out to the ocean don’t start until around 3 miles in where the road passes through a burn scar and past a few volcanic depressions. The thick vegetation prevents much access by the wind, and the route was consistently hot and muggy.
At 4 miles, the road passes a usually open gate in the shade of some trees, and shortly after connects with some other coastal dirt roads coming in from the northwest. At around 5 miles, it enters some a’a’ lava fields (including some old stone walls) before meeting the ocean.
We never saw another soul on the road in a total of 8 runs over the month we spent in Waiohinu, with the exception of one group at a small fishing camp on the coast (they may have driven in via one of the more trafficked connecting roads).
Charlie’s notes: Overall, this was not the most beautiful, interesting, or challenging routes we found; but it does provide some solid miles if you’re looking for a safe and convenient place to run near Na’alehu. Be prepared to sweat.
Laura’s notes: This trail is nothing to write home about, but was conveniently located, easy to access, no dogs, and, as an out-and-back, accommodates runs of variable length.
