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Are you thinking about driving up to Mauna Kea?
This a photo tour of driving on Saddle Road (Hwy 200) from Hilo to Kona. There are detailed photos of the scenary and road conditions. The photo tour includes a side trip to the Mauna Kea visitor's center, which is 6 miles off of Saddle road about mid-way between Hilo and Kona. Portions of Saddle road are under construction and it goes by a large military base. On this trip there fortunately was no bad weather or fog limiting visibility. The road between the visitors center and Hilo is in much better shape than the side to Kona.
If you decide to drive Saddle road, check weather conditions in advance and use a 4 Wheel drive, though it isn't required. The pictures are segmented into three sections:
Saddle Road from Hilo to Mauna Kea Visitor Center Cutoff
Saddle Road starts at Komohana and Puainako Street in Hilo. You don't have to get to Saddle Road via Kaumana Drive even though maps and Google show it that way. Puainako jogs to the right at Komohana where Saddle Road begins. There were sections of the road that were unpaved and huge potholes near the construction areas.
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Road from Mauna Kea Visitor's center to Saddle Road
The road from Saddle Road to the Mauna Kea Visitors center is at the 28 mile marker where there is a road to the right and a sign that says Mauna Kea Access Road. The visitors center is 6 miles up a relatively steep road to a small center at 9000 feet. At the bottom of the road, on Saddle road there is a lone emergency telephone. These photos start at the Visitors Center on a day when the cold weather on Mauna Kea has shut down traffic to and from the telescopes up above the Visitor's center.
View of housing for visiting scientists from Visitors center
Parking lot of Visitors center
Visitors center
Bathroom in Visitors Center - uses filtered lights
Road Barricade due to ice and snow on Mauna Kea
Campground near Visitors Center
Road from Visitors Center back to Saddle Road driven in the lowest gear going about 20mph max (17% grade)
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Saddle road from visitor's center cutoff toward Kona
Past the Mauna Kea Access Road on the Kona side there is a camp ground and military base, Camp Pohakuloa. The road goes by Bradshaw Army Airfield at 6200 feet which has a large air traffic control tower for the military runway there. The road from the Mauna Kea Access Road toward Kona has huge potholes and many bridges that are single lane. Trucks and vans drive in the middle of the lane to dodge the holes and the messy road sides. The road gets better once you near Waimea and start seeing cows. The pictures start near the access road to Mauna Kea and head down the hill toward Waimea.
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Copyright 2008, 2009
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