Best Spots for Stargazing on the Big Island of Hawaii

The Big Island of Hawaii is a stargazer's paradise. Whether you are lying on the beach with your honey or gazing at stars through a telescope at the top of a mountain, the Big Island stars are like none other. The following is a list of the best spots for stargazing on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The Big Island is one of the newest Hawaiian Islands, and one that is still growing, however not in population, but in geographical size. With the dangers of many active volcanoes, the lack of large populations and big cities makes the Big Island of Hawaii ideal for stargazing, the glare from big city lights prevent the shine of stars from coming out of the night sky.

Beaches are great places to view stars. Grab your honey and a blanket and set out to the beach to watch the sunset than gaze at the night sky. Spencer Beach Park is great because of its sandy shoreline. This beach park is popular with families and offers camping so it is also very safe. Hapuna Beach is great too. The beach is over half a mile long and 200 feet wide with soft sand. It is close to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, but the lights from the hotel do not affect the quality of the stars.

If you want to get a little closer to the stars, I suggest checking out the view from Mauna Kea. It is cold up there so be sure to wear long pants and a jacket. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the summit of Mauna Kea from the visitors center. It is recommended that you spend a little time at the visitors' center before taking the ride up the mountain to help you acclimatize to the elevation. The summit of Mauna Kea is at 9000 feet above sea level. Once at the top, volunteers have telescopes set up for your viewing pleasure.

If you are more into the guided tour than the do it yourself, I suggest checking out the Hawaii Mauna Kea Summit Tour on the Big Island. This tour includes a lesson on the geological history of the Big Island and a hot picnic style dinner at a historic ranch post. Once at the top of the mountain you will watch a beautiful sunset, then the tour guides set up telescopes and tell entertaining stories about the universe while you sip hot chocolate and eat macadamia cookies in your parkas (provided by the tour group). This is a pricey tour at $165, but well worth it for the experience, it is also a lengthy tour lasting about eight hours.

Mountain star gazing is not recommended for young children, pregnant women, folks with poor health or heart conditions, and those that have recently been scuba diving. High elevations can be dangerous.

Star gazing on the Big Island is a real treat. Whether at the beach or on the mountain, all you need to do is look up to see the beauty. This article offers suggestions to some of the best spots for star gazing on the Big Island of Hawaii.