ATV Adventure Hawaii Style

by Jack Welch,
BRC President

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In January 2003, my wife Jean and I spent our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in Hawaii, and during that three weeks I decided to try ATV trail riding Hawaii style! To set the stage for my trail adventure there are several issues related to ATV riding in the Islands that you should know.

First, there is very little "public land" that is open to ATVs in the Hawaiian Islands. In fact, it appears that most of the ATV riding takes place on private land. The location I chose for my island adventure was on the Big Island of Hawaii. The folks that set up the trip were the "ATV Outfitters Hawaii." This is a family owned business, owned by Bill and Sanie Wong. They were the first to offer ATV Adventures on the Island of Hawaii using private ranch lands. Their headquarters is on the North Kohala coast of the Big Island, and they are located in the small town of Kapaau on main street.

ATV Outfitters offers three different adventures. The 15 mile Waterfall Adventure takes you from the seashore to the oldest rainforest on the Big Island. The second trip is the 30 mile all day adventure. The third Adventure is the one I took. It was called the Historical Ocean Cliff Trail.

I arrived at the ATV Outfitters headquarters just after lunch, and the weather was great. After checking in and being fitted with a helmet, gloves and goggles, we were taken by van to the trailhead/ATV Barn. Joining me on the adventure were John and Melanie Ways from Lincoln, Nebraska. The Ways had never ridden ATVs before so the training that took place at the ATV Barn was important. The ATVs we used were fully automatic and we had safety operating instructions, which was followed by practice on a specially designed training course. We all took turns navigating the course until we felt comfortable operating our ATVs.

After the training course we were ready to trail ride! Our guides for the adventure were Darrol and Fado. After leaving the training area we entered the Kohala coastal area which is the oldest volcano area on the island of Hawaii. Today this volcano's slopes are lush green countryside, rich in tropical beauty and exquisite history. As we began our descent along the coast we soon began following the old railroad path. This old railroad grade once serviced the bustling sugar industry. On one portion of the railroad grade our guides stopped to share some of the genuine history of Old Hawaii! At one of the stops we visited an old power magazine/cave in the hillside.

After following the railroad grade we continued along a very steep descent and ended up at a beautiful secluded pebbled beach. This beach was once favored by the Great King Kamehameha. From this beach you have a great view of the Kauhola Point Lighthouse and the vast ocean!

After a short walk to the beach and some cold refreshments, we began our ascent, climbing up the steep trail and retracing our route. It was interesting to watch John Ways, who had never ridden an ATV before. He really got into the weight shifting as we climbed back to the trailhead/ATV barn and the end of our adventure.

The scenic vistas and the historical information that our guides covered made this adventure one of the highlights of my trip to the Hawaiian Islands. I look forward some day to another adventure on the big island. To contact ATV Outfitters Hawaii visit their website at www.outfitter shawaii.com or call 1-888-ATV-7288.

For a trail map of this ride Click Here.


—Jack Welch is the President of the BlueRibbon Coalition. For questions or comments on this article or related issues, he may be contacted through the BRC main office: P.O. Box 5449, Pocatello, ID, 83202. Phone: 208-237-1008, Fax: 208-237-9424. Email: <brjack_w@sharetrails.org>.

BlueRibbon Magazine, November 2003