Skip to main content

Kalako Drive

By

Kalako Drive is an approximately 6.5-mile rural highway located on western side of the Hawaiian Big Island.  Kalako Drive begins at Hawaii Route 190 Mile Marker 34 and ascends east along the volcanic slope of Hualalai to an approximate elevation of 4,500 feet above sea level.  The corridor is one of the main throughfares in the Kona Coffee Belt and was developed during the early 1980s. 


This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking here. 




Part 1; the history of Kalako Drive

The coffee plant was brough to the Kona District in 1828 by Reverend Samuel Ruggles.  Ruggles imported Brazilian cuttings which took well to the wet western slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa.  By the 1870s quality of Kona District Coffee would be recognized and branded by the local plantation owners.  

The so-called Kona Coffee Belt lies at an elevation ranging from 500 feet above sea level to 3,200 feet.  The area is known for consistently receiving more than 60 inches of rain annually amid temperatures ranging from 60F-85F.   The volcanic soil conditions and proper drainage also play a significant factor in the consistency of coffee cultivation.  

Kaloko Drive first appears on the 1980 United States Geological Survey map of Hawaii County.  The roadway is shown only to extend to what is now upper Huo Street.  


The modern extent of Kaloko Drive appears on the 1982 United States Geologic Survey map of Kailua-Kona.  The modern roadway ends shortly east of Huehue Street.  




Part 2; a drive on Kaloko Drive 

Below the Hualalai Cloud Forest can be seen in around the Mountain Thunder Coffee plantation located on Hao Street at approximately 3,200 feet.  Mountain Thunder was opened for business approximately shortly after the completion of Kaloko Drive.  The plantation tour guide claims the facility receives 100 inches of rain annually. 










Hao Street intersects and crosses over Kaloko Drive.  



Kaloko Drive winds west through the terrain amid wide and sweeping switchbacks (six in total) to a terminus at Hawaii Route 190.  














Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more

Hawaii Route 50

By
Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

By
A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
4 comments
Read more