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| Entrance to the park from round-top drive |
This scenic, lush green state
park is a forested area which sits on a cinder cone close to downtown Honolulu.
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| The entrance to the park |
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| Lush green way to the park |
The elevation of 1,048 feet provides panoramic view from Diamond Head to Pearl
Harbor, including Honolulu and Manoa Valley and southern base of the Waianane
Mountain Range.
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| panoramic view of Honolulu as seen from the park |
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| sunrise at the park |
The park has a picnic area and a viewpoint.
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| sunrise at the park |
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| the picnic area |
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| the restroom at the picnic area |
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| Honolulu city and diamond head as seen from the top |
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| view from the top |
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| view from the top |
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| View from the top |
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| View from the top |
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| Add captionView from the top |
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| View from the top |
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| View from the top |
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| View from the top |
It is located along the
scenic Tantalus-Round
Top Drive. It is an 8-mile, two-lane paved Oahu’s Only State and National Historic Road. It offers amenities like picnic
area, restrooms and free admission and parking.
There is a small trail
near the park named Ualaka‘a Trail. This
loop trail is a part of Makiki Valley Trail. So actually it's Ualaka‘a Trail to
Makiki Valley Trail to Round Top Drive to Ualaka‘a Trail.
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| Ualaka‘a Trail |
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| The road to the top |
The name PUʻU ʻUALAKAʻA transfer to "rolling sweet potato hill" in Hawaiian
language referring to the old days when planters had to rely on gravity to
bring in the harvest allowing the tubers that were dug up to then roll down the
steep slopes.
History
of Pu’u’Ualaka’a State Park
The Pu’u’Ualaka’a
cinder of this volcanic cone eruption provided
a very rich soil for growing sweet potatoes or ‘uala and in 1790s king Kamehameha -I established an ‘uala plantation on the slopes
of the cone which is named because of the sweet potato plantation.
Later
the forests were denuded to plant commercial sandalwood trees from China
between 1815-1826.
But in later
years beginning in 1910-the area was reforested by eucalyptus trees. Ernest
Shelton Van Tassel started macadamia nuts plantation.
Nutridge
is the name given to farm/estate built by Ernest Shelton Van Tassel, who
established a farm on the property to introduce macadamia nuts as a commercial
industry to the world.
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| Ernest Shelton Van Tassel home than |
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| Ernest Shelton Van Tassel home now |
Van
Tassel brought the nuts from Australia and asked the government to give him
land between Puu Ualakaa and Puu Kakea for an orchard. The nuts were than
processed at the warehouse in Kakaako
and sold as Van’s Macadamia Nuts. In 1922 he formed the Hawaii Macadamia
Nut Company. But due to shade, wind and rain typical for the leeward
side of Tantalus, the sun loving trees did not yield much fruits. Eventually Van
Tassel would decommission the farm at Round Top.
His
residence is still maintained at 3280 Round Top Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822
The road to the top of
‘Ualaka’a was put in in the late 1940s in order to create a park and look-out.
Today Pu’u’Ualaka’a
State Park provides a scenic
retreat from hustle and bustle of Honolulu city life.
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| Sunrise as seen from the way to the park |
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| Sunrise as seen from the way to the park |
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| Sunrise as seen from the way to the park |
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| Sunrise as seen from the way to the park |
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| Sunrise as seen from the way to the park |
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| Round top drive |
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| The forest reserve that serve as catchment area for drinking water for city of Honolulu |
The park is open from
7am until 7:45pm (April – Labor Day) or 6:45pm (Labor Day through March).
References:
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