The Kilauea light house beautifully punctuates the view as you approach the point and look across to the lighthouse on one side and a hillside covered with white birds on the other. As we walked towards the lighthouse itself, the placards and leaflet from the ranger helped us identify the different birds in the area. The most amazing sight was the two nene geese, Hawaii's state bird, asleep in the middle of the lawn, clearly comfortable with the lack of predators in this refuge. We felt very lucky.
The historic Kilauea light house is a great place to see the south pacific seabirds, including the Red Leg Boobie and the amazing Albatross that can live for months floating over the Pacific. It is also a wonderful location in the winter to see the great gray whales as they calve around the island. While the light house is completely obsolete with GPS and ocean mapping to go with it, it is still a gorgeous location.
Great views, interesting history, and maybe a nene goose sighting in the parking lot - they are apparently good beggars. Bring your National Parks pass to avoid paying admission.
We stop at the lighthouse several times during our trip. The views are fantastic and we often see whales, sea turtles and countless birds. The staff is knowledgeable and are always willing to answer questions!
The drive in is interesting, through a couple small towns and neighborhoods. I recommend you get there early in the day ( before 10:30) or there will be a line to drive down to the parking lot. If you get there early, stop at the overlook on top of the driveway first to see all the birds on the cliff. Parking is limited down by the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is nothing special, but it is a picturesque spot. You will likely see whales during the season. It's an amazing panoramic view of the coast and cliffs.
We took our twin grandsons to see the lighthouse and hopefully a few whales off shore. The whales didn't cooperate that day, but the weather, the spectacular views, and cute ne-nes did. The docents are very helpful and well-informed. Well worth the visit.
We love this place! This visit they have added a lighthouse tour on Saturday and Wednesday, 10:30a to 2:30p each half hour. Nice add! No charge for the tour, but donations gladly accepted. Hope the funds are used to keep the site fresh.Take a photo from above on arrival, then auto on down (don't park above and walk down, you'll just clog up the place). You're moving up on the wet side of the island, and you definitely want to be there on a sunny, bright day, so watch the weather closely. Otherwise, best show in town!
We stopped first at the free overlook to see the waves crashing against the cliff where the lighthouse resides. Very nice! Then we paid extra to go into the wildlife refuge - NOT worth the money. I suggest just go to the free overlook and journey on.
The views are gorgeous! You can see lots of birds, and turtles, and we saw whales. Go early to get parking spots, they fill up fast. We have been to this lighthouse several times over the years, and it is a national park. If you have a pass from another national park, you can use it here too at the shop. One year we were here, we saw a lot of debris from the Tsunami wash up on shore, stoves, refrigerators, so you never know what you will see.
There is limited parking, but the view is incredible. We saw whales in the distance and the lighthouse just finishes the wonderful scenery. The road is a nice road, not narrow or winding and is easily accessible.