Puako, peacefully nestled between two of the most renowned Kohala coast resort hotel properties, is a former fishing village that is now recognized as the Big Island’s most quintessential beach community.
A turn onto Puako Beach Drive, between mile markers 70 and 71 on Queen Kaahamanu Highway, leads residents and visitors down a winding road toward the coast and into this relaxed tropical haven that gracefully retains a distinct sense of Old Hawaii.
As you enter Puako, you will pass the Puako Small Boat Ramp and then the Hokuloa Church on the right. After two years of construction, this historic church was dedicated on March 21, 1860. Still home to an active congregation, the church was renovated in 1990 and represents the residents’ commitment to preserving a history of the local community.
Down the road just a bit is the M’s Puako General Store, which opened in 1987. Owned by Narand and Urmila Patel, the General Store is a low-key gathering place where residents and guests of Puako’s vacation rentals are able to pick up a variety of supplies, relax with an ice cream after a walk to the beach, or borrow a book from the exchange shelf on the lanai.
Click here to view all Puako Beach Lots listings.
Beyond the General Store, Puako Beach Drive leads past many architecturally significant modern homes, several cottages and even a few remaining classic plantation-style homes, reminders of Puako’s varied history. Once accessible only by boat, the area surrounding Puako has been home to a sugar plantation, as well as “a charcoal making-operation, a honey-bee operation where bees were being shipped to Sweden, a hog farm, and a salt operation with salt sold to whalers and for meat.” (Mary Morrision, North Hawaii News, Nov. 30, 2000)
Known for family-friendly tide pools and beautiful views of Maui (across the Alenuihaha Channel to Haleakala), and of the Kohala mountains and Mauna Kea sunrises, Puako is also located near some of the Kohala coast’s most treasured natural and historic attractions.
The Puako Petroglyph Archaeological District is nearby, as well as Hapuna Beach State Park and miles of dive and snorkeling spots. Green sea turtles, a protected species, make themselves comfortable on Puako shores and humpback whales make their way from Alaska through the channel each year to breed in Hawaii’s warm waters.
With all this beauty and natural diversity comes responsibility to promote conservation efforts, so the Puako community has organized the Makai (Sea) Watch Program. Near beach access points, signs from the State of Hawaii provide reminders of the protected status of much of the wildlife found in this delicate ecosystem. The area is part of the Puako Bay and Puako Reef Marine Fisheries Management Area managed by the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The rich history and natural beauty of Puako set this small Kohala coast neighborhood apart and make it one of the Big Island’s most sought-after oceanfront communities.
Whether you are searching for a contemporary luxury permanent residence, are interested in a property where fractional ownership may be an option, or want to be alerted when there is a listing available in the Puako Beach Apartments condominium project, we value the opportunity to answer your questions about the real estate market in Puako.
Listed below are a few of our agents who have assisted buyers or sellers in Puako. (You can contact an agent directly, or, if you prefer, please contact our relocation coordinator, Mary Murphy, R(S), at 808.329.5255 ext 5259 for an agent referral.)
 Christine Makaweo, R |
 Linda West, R, GRI |
 Derinda Thatcher, R, ABR, CRS |
 Joy Johnson, R(S), ABR |
 Juanita Montgomery, R, CRS, ePRO, GRI |
On a personal note, I wrote this blog post for clarkhawaii.com from a vacation rental in Puako, as we are wrapping up a two-week stay with family members visiting from Chicago. We have had a wonderful “winter” break and are already looking forward to our stay in Puako next year!
Here is a link to a flickr slideshow with a few more photos:
http://bit.ly/9mkzxm
My clients bought Lot 66 in 1990 and they have enjoyed this oceanfront lot immensely, being outdoor people born and raised in the Islands. They have been able to swim, snorkel, dive, kayak and sail from this lot and although loathe to sell it now, the times are dictating and this special oceanfront lot is now available for $2.7 million. Besides being my clients, they are good friends and I have enjoyed many wonderful days in Puako with them, especially watching the fireworks put on by the resort hotels along the South Kohala coast on New Years and the 4th of July as we watched from our beach chairs. This is a very special place indeed.
When I first came to the Islands in 1973, I met and became friends of the Ruddle family who owned a large parcel of land at the end of Puako Beach Drive. In those days, there were no hotels other than the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The coastline south of Puako was nothing but lava, brackish-water ponds and small, intermittant white-sand beaches that one could explore for hours without another soul.
The Ruddle family at that time had a grey, Arabian stallion they kept at their Puako estate. I started riding him bareback down the coast whenever I could. It was glorious riding through the soft beach sand along that pristine coast with no one in sight for miles. A time I will never forget…..