Maunakea Summit, Sunset, and Stargazing Tour

The Maunakea Summit and Stars tour drives you from Kona to the 13,796-foot summit for sunset, then back down to 9,000 feet for a private star show with an 11-inch Celestron telescope. The tour runs 8 to 9 hours. You will be above the cloud layer by late afternoon. At the summit, you are standing at the highest point in the Pacific.

Pickup and return

The tour departs from Kona between 1:30 and 3 p.m. depending on the booking date. Pickup is available at the King Kamehameha Courtyard Marriott in Kona, Queen’s MarketPlace, and Waikoloa Plaza. The return to Kona is between 9 and 10 p.m. The full round-trip is 8 to 9 hours.

Picnic Dinner at the visitor center

The group stops at the Maunakea Visitor Information Station at 9,200 feet to eat and acclimate before heading to the summit. The meal is Southwest Stew or Vegetarian Chili with hot chocolate and dessert. This is also where your guide covers Hawaiian star navigation and the cultural history of the mountain.

The visitor center is the last point with reliable cell coverage before the summit. Fill your water bottle here.

Sunset viewing at the Maunakea Summit

The summit road puts you at 13,796 feet among the telescope domes. By the time you arrive, the cloud layer is typically below you: a flat deck of white extending to the horizon while the sun drops through it. This is the moment most guests photograph. Temperature at the summit reaches 32 degrees F (0 degrees C). Parkas and gloves are provided, but layers underneath help. The drive back down begins after dark.

Stargazing

After the summit, the group moves to a dark location at 9,000 feet for the star show. Your guide sets up an 11-inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for direct viewing and a Stellina digital telescope for deep-space imaging. On a clear night the Celestron will show Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, the Andromeda Galaxy, and lunar craters in detail. The Milky Way core is visible to the naked eye from this elevation on most nights.

During the session your guide uses the Stellina to photograph deep-space objects. The images are sent to you after the tour.

Maunakea Summit & Stars Give Back Experience

The Mauna Kea Stars and Summit experience can be combined with an extra stop during which you are invited to “give back” to the island by helping out with conservation work at the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative!

This Give Back experience only takes place on Wednesdays and differs from the Mauna Kea Stars and Summit experience in the following ways:

• You depart 75 minutes earlier than the standard Mauna Kea Summit and Stars to make a 1 hour stop at a rare and endangered native dry forest habitat.
• Participate in some conservation work such as seed collection, while learning about The Waikoloa Dryforest Initiative and how they are revitalizing critical habitat.
• A portion of the proceeds from each guest is donated to the Waikoloa Dryforest Initiative to perpetuate their conservation work.

Why is the Mauna Kea Summit so special?

For astronomers Hawaiʻi is one of the best places of the world to observe the stars. There are many world-class observatories on the 4,207 m (13,802 ft) high summit, which looks so other worldly that is also used to simulate living on other planets for months at a time!

If you like looking at the stars or telescopes a visit to the Big Island is not complete without some serious stargazing. What better place to do so than on the highest volcano in the state?

From the summit you can see the sun dip below the clouds in a spectacular explosion of color, framed by (snowy) peaks, old volcanoes, and futuristic world class telescopes.

MaunaKea facts and trivia 🤩

MaunaKea erupted last more than 4000 years ago and is not considered an active volcano anymore.  The MaunaKea summit is the highest point of the state of Hawaiʻi, 13.796 ft above sea level. There have even been glaciers on the volcano during colder periods!

The story of Maunakea gets better. Because the volcanoes on the Big Island are so heavy and because a large part of the volcanoes is hidden under water, MaunaKea is actually higher than Mount Everest. Measured  from the base on the ocean floor MaunaKea rises over 10,000 m (33,000 ft) high!

Image credit for most images used on this page: Hawaii Forest & Trail.

Hawaii Forest and Trail has operated on the Big Island since 1993. They hold permits to access private and restricted land across the island, which extends what their tours can reach.They are fully certified by the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawai’i, which means that their tours are eco-friendly, culturally educational and operate as sustainable as possible.

Knowledgeable Staff

HFT guides hold academic backgrounds in biology, geology, and Hawaiian cultural history, with field experience required.

Giving back to the community

The vision of Hawaii Forest & Trail is to share the splendor of Hawai’i and inspire a deep connection with our natural world. They donate a small amount ($1 per guest) to a fund that makes donations to non-profit organizations whose mission and work aligns with at least one of the following criteria:

• benefits the conservation of Hawaii’s native ecosystems, species and landscapes.
• promulgates the understanding and practice of Hawaiian culture and the dissemination and understanding of Hawaii’s natural and cultural history.
• promotes and facilitates an appreciation and interaction with nature, especially programs that are youth oriented.

It is the intent of the fund to give preference to entities who are based or whose work is performed in the communities where they operate tours.

Hawaii Forest & Trail - Our Story

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