Mau Loa o Maunaulu

Mau Loa o Maunaulu is a roadside pullout with a broad view across the Maunaulu lava field. It’s a good short stop if you want to see the scale of the eruption from the drive; the view is right at the pullout. The Keauhou Trail also starts here and heads toward coastal backcountry campsites, so treat that as a separate hike rather than part of the quick lookout.

On the mauka, or uphill, side of the road, the Maunaulu lava shield sits in the distance. It’s the source of the broad field below. For a photo, include some of the textured lava in front and the shield beyond it; that gives the scene both its close detail and its scale.

Maunaulu’s flows repeatedly crossed the road between 1969 and 1974, during an eruption that lasted nearly five years. The broad, dark field you see from this pullout is part of that long eruptive episode.

Some pāhoehoe flows have a shiny glaze because light reflects off a thin, silica-rich layer of surface glass. Vegetation is sparse here, where hard lava and harsh winds make it difficult for plants to take hold.

The name is translated as “the long continuous growing mountain,” or “forever-growing mountain.” It fits a place shaped by repeated additions of lava.