Kealakekua Bay

The bay is a Marine Conservation District — no fishing, no anchoring, no collecting any marine resource. Citations are issued. Spinner dolphins rest in the bay during the day after night-feeding offshore; they are federally protected and you must stay at least fifty yards back per NOAA. Do not chase, follow, or position yourself between dolphins and open water. The Captain Cook Monument trail down from the highway is brutal — 1,300 feet of descent, no shade, hardest going up; carry more water than you think you need and start before dawn if you do it at all. Hikiau Heiau on the south shore, at Nāpoʻopoʻo, is sacred and off-limits to entry.