Hawaii Highways - Road Photos logo
Here are 27 pages with over 330 road photos from all over Hawaii, most of which I took on my visits to the islands in autumn 1999 (all six islands), May 2000 (Oahu, Maui, the Big Island), and November 2001 (all islands except Molokai). Lots of new photos from my spring 2005 visit (Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Kauai), and my January 2009 visit (Oahu, Maui, Big Island), as well as more Big Island road photos from someone else's early 2005 visit there, will be added in 2009 (resulting in a major Road Photos reorganization, to add several new photo collections). Some photos from other people are included, and submissions to fill gaps in the collection or add historical photos are welcome (see below).

The photos begin with the Introduction to highway signage and other features common to all the islands, but get a lot more interesting in a hurry, with the next part devoted to one of the most scenic freeways in the United States, Interstate H-3. The remaining parts cover other highways on Oahu and all the "neighbor islands" with state highways, including pages devoted to some of the more interesting highways (such as Maui's Hana, Piilani, and Kahekili Highways, and the Big Island's Saddle Road and its side roads to the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa observatories), as well as lava closures of highways on the Big Island's southeastern coast, and also a page on unique Kalawao County (the historic Kalaupapa Settlement "leper colony") on Molokai's north shore.

Look at the end of each of the following parts for a link to the main Hawaii Highways page and any relevant route or exit guide(s), as well as "back" and "continue" links to the previous and next parts of the road photo collection, and direct links to all the others in case you want to skip around the islands in a different order. Here's the order (with links):

Introduction (two pages)
OahuInterstate H-3 · Interstate H-1 (two pages) · Other Freeways
Other Oahu South · Other Oahu West · Other Oahu East
KauaiKuhio Highway · Other Kauai
MauiHana Highway (two pages) · Piilani Highway (two pages)
Kahekili Highway · Other Maui
LanaiLanai/Molokai
MolokaiLanai/Molokai · Kalawao County
Big IslandSaddle Road · (Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa) Observatories Roads
Lava Closures (two pages) · Red Road · Waipio Valley · Other Big Island
Some parts will have links to other photo collections, such as Mark Furqueron's and Steve Alpert's Hawaii road photos or photos on Hawaii DOT's site, as well as other related sites.

Some of the larger parts listed above are split into two pages; the links above and below are to the first page of each, which has a prominent link to continue to the second page. Even though I've broken down the overall collection and its components into more manageable pieces, many pages have more than a dozen photos, and page download sizes range up to 340KB. Please be patient while they download!

For those of you especially interested in road signs, there is a separate Hawaii Road Signs three-page collection, including much of the material in the Introduction pages to this collection, plus some sign photos from pages for specific islands. Another separate page (with photos also included in the main collection) covers the endpoints of Hawaii's four Interstates. There are also pages with links to photos of endpoints for some state and county routes, and of many of the remaining old cutout-style state route markers still in use.


Photos wanted!

While I managed to get a reasonably comprehensive road photo collection on my 1999, 2000, and 2001 visits to Hawaii, and with photos to be added from my 2005 and 2009 visits, there were a few things I missed. Also, I could use some more historic road photos, like the one of the Pali Highway ca. 1960 on the Other Oahu East photos page. If you have photos you would like to contribute to this collection (with appropriate credit, of course), please e-mail me.

Here are a few photo items I know I could use:

All islands

  • Any photos of old-style cutout route markers still standing (many have disappeared since 2001), other than those already on this site
  • Photos of state and county route ends, particularly on Oahu, not already on this site (I should have the other islands almost completely covered in the photos from my 2005 and 2009 trips, as well as more ends photos from Oahu)
Kauai
  • The remnants of the road built north of Waimea Canyon and Kokee Road into the Alakai Swamp (including construction equipment reportedly abandoned in the swamp), in an abortive effort to connect the island's northwest and southwest coasts
  • The bypassed old alignments of the Kuhio Highway (route 56) in northeastern Kauai noted on my Kauai route list, and in particular any traces of old route signage
Kahoolawe
  • The unpaved highways K-1 and K-2 (currently not open to the general public, and so not included in any of this site's route lists)
Lanai
  • Views from the Munro Trail (it rained on both of my visits to Lanai)
  • The Hole 12 green on the Challenge of Manele golf course (that's where Bill and Melinda Gates got married)
Molokai
  • Any new warning signs at the mule trail and airport entrances to Kalawao County
  • The west end of Puu Kapele Avenue at a small Air Force facility in north central Molokai (this may be the only route end I didn't photograph on my 2005 visit, though if as I think county route 490 actually ends at the intersection east of the facility, I have that covered)
Big Island
  • Historic photos of lava closures not covered by the Lava Closures pages, such as the 1950 closures of parts of the Mamalahoa Highway along the southwest coast, or the 1955 and 1960 road closures in the Puna district
  • The fictitious "Pu'u BookEmDanno" on the east slope of the Hualalai volcano near Kailua-Kona (see DeLorme's Hawaii Atlas and Gazetteer, page 50, grid B6), and especially of any shrine or memorial, etc. placed there to try to "officialize" the site
  • The Nanue Bridge on state route 19 along the northeast coast (I couldn't get a shot from the old Mamalahoa Highway inland of the bridge, at least without either trespassing or doing some serious bushwacking from the old highway; the best view may be from the coast, via boat)
  • The improvements underway to finish rerouting Saddle Road north of the Army base (roughly between milemarkers 35 and 42), and other improvements east of mile 19

Link to continue to Introduction page
to Introduction (signs, etc. from all the islands)
You may also go directly to other parts of the Hawaii Highways road photos collection:

Interstate H-3 · Interstate H-1 · Other Freeways · Other Oahu South
Other Oahu West · Other Oahu East · Kuhio Highway · Other Kauai
Hana Highway · Piilani Highway · Kahekili Highway · Other Maui · Lanai/Molokai
Kalawao County · Saddle Road · Observatories Roads · Lava Closures
Red Road · Waipio Valley · Other Big Island

or elsewhere in the Hawaii Highways site:

Big Island route list Maui route list Lanai/Molokai route list Kauai route list Oahu route list Oahu Freeways exit guides
Site guide - what's where on this site, and how to get there Frequently Asked Questions Credits and Sources Hawaii DOT highways web site Hawaii Highways main page


Comments, etc.? Please e-mail me.

Last updated February 2009 (minor "wish list" and other changes).

This page, and all the other road photos pages listed above, © 1999-2007, 2009 Oscar Voss.