Hilo: Where Rainforest Meets the Bay

Downtown Hilo: A Town With Its Own Identity

Downtown Hilo is one of my favorite examples of a Hawaiian town that has retained its character.

Along Kamehameha Avenue and the surrounding streets, historic commercial buildings house independent shops, galleries, restaurants, cafés, and businesses serving local residents. The Hilo Farmers Market brings together growers, food vendors, artisans, and shoppers, with big market days on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while the nearby bayfront offers broad views across the water.

The Pacific Tsunami Museum tells an essential part of Hilo’s history, including the devastating tsunamis of 1946 and 1960 that profoundly changed the town and its relationship with the ocean.

The Lyman Museum, located a short distance from the bayfront, explores Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural history. Farther inland, the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center combines astronomy, Hawaiian navigation traditions, and the cultural significance of Maunakea.

Hilo is also home to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College, which contribute to the town’s educational and cultural life.

Unlike a resort community, Hilo is a place where government, education, healthcare, commerce, and family life intersect every day.

Liliʻuokalani Gardens, Banyan Drive, and Coconut Island

One of Hilo’s loveliest places is Liliʻuokalani Gardens, a Japanese-style garden along the bay with ornamental bridges, ponds, stone lanterns, and carefully composed views.

The gardens honor Hawaiʻi’s Japanese immigrant community and are named for Queen Liliʻuokalani. They are a wonderful place for an unhurried walk, photography, or simply sitting beside the water.

Nearby Banyan Drive has another unusual distinction: many of its enormous banyan trees were planted by prominent visitors beginning in 1933, when director Cecil B. DeMille planted the first.

Sometimes called Hilo’s Walk of Fame, the trees are associated with figures including Amelia Earhart, Babe Ruth, and filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille. Historical plaques identify the people connected with individual plantings. Over the decades, the trees have grown into extraordinary living landmarks.

Just offshore is Moku Ola (Coconut Island), a small island park traditionally associated with healing and refuge. For generations, it has been a favorite gathering place for picnics, fishing, and enjoying views across the bay.

The gardens, Banyan Drive, and Coconut Island together make this part of Hilo particularly memorable.

Gardens, Waterfalls, and the Outdoors

Hilo puts some of Hawaiʻi Island’s most remarkable natural places within easy reach.

Rainbow Falls, on the Wailuku River, is just a few minutes from central Hilo. The waterfall drops into a large pool surrounded by lush vegetation, and morning sunlight can produce the rainbow that gives it its name.

Farther up the river, Boiling Pots offers another perspective on the power of moving water, with cascades and pools carved into volcanic rock.

North of Hilo, the scenic drive through Onomea leads toward the Hawaiʻi Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, where winding paths descend through extraordinary tropical plant collections toward the ocean.

Continuing along the Hāmākua Coast brings you to ʻAkaka Falls State Park and its towering waterfall, surrounded by dense rainforest. Farther north, the rural windward communities of North Hilo continue along the same scenic stretch of Highway 19.

To the south, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is approximately 30 miles from Hilo, with a typical driving time of around 45 minutes to the main entrance, depending on traffic and conditions.

For anyone who loves gardening, hiking, photography, or simply living among tropical vegetation, Hilo has considerable appeal.

Hilo Neighborhoods and Real Estate

Hilo is not a single, uniform residential market.

Its neighborhoods vary in age, elevation, lot size, architecture, infrastructure, and exposure to rain and flooding.

Historic Homes and Neighborhoods

Hilo’s residential architecture tells much of the town’s history. Its older neighborhoods contain houses from several periods, reflecting the growth of commerce, the sugar industry, and the families and professionals who helped shape the community.

Near downtown, surviving homes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries include straightforward wood-frame residences, some elevated on piers, with porches, generous windows, and practical designs suited to Hawaiʻi’s climate. The historic houses on Ululani Street offer examples of this early vernacular architecture.

One particularly interesting enclave is Halaulani Place, developed during the first half of the twentieth century. Its historic residences include Craftsman bungalows with broad roof overhangs, exposed rafters, covered porches, and, in some cases, substantial lava-rock foundations. The neighborhood also contains a Colonial Revival residence later remodeled by the celebrated Hawaiʻi architect Vladimir Ossipoff.

North of downtown, Wainaku retains connections to Hilo’s plantation history. The Hilo Sugar Company developed housing for workers and supervisors in this area, and some of those early cottages and houses survive. Elsewhere, Hilo’s residential neighborhoods expanded through the mid-twentieth century, creating a varied collection of modest family homes, larger residences, and later construction.

For buyers who appreciate older architecture, Hilo offers opportunities to find homes with distinctive character. But architectural charm should be considered alongside practical questions about original construction, alterations, drainage, ventilation, and the condition of roofs and structural components. Historic designation, where applicable, also deserves investigation before planning major changes.

Older areas close to downtown include historic homes, modest cottages, and properties within walking distance of shops and services. Some houses reflect plantation-era and mid-century building traditions, with covered lanais, generous roof overhangs, and designs intended to encourage ventilation.

Waiākea includes established residential neighborhoods, schools, and convenient access to shopping and services.

Kaumana rises into the hills above town, where properties can offer cooler temperatures, more space, and sometimes views toward the bay. Rainfall and weather conditions can change with elevation.

Along the coast, Keaukaha has a distinctive shoreline setting and deep community roots, including Hawaiian homestead lands. Buyers should understand the important differences between fee-simple property and Hawaiian Home Lands leases, which have specific eligibility and transfer requirements.

Farther inland and outside central Hilo, communities such as Waiākea Uka offer different combinations of acreage, rural character, and access to town.

The right neighborhood depends on how a buyer wants to live: walking distance to downtown, proximity to schools or healthcare, room for gardening, coastal access, or a quieter setting above the city.

If you are weighing Hilo against other districts, the Moving to Hawaiʻi Island guide compares where to live across the island.

What should buyers investigate before purchasing in Hilo?

Hilo’s climate and geography make property-specific due diligence especially important.

• Rainfall and moisture. Good roof maintenance, drainage, ventilation, and moisture management are essential. Buyers should look carefully for water intrusion, wood deterioration, termites, and mold, particularly in older homes.
• Flooding and tsunami exposure. Properties near streams, low-lying areas, and the shoreline may face flood or tsunami hazards. FEMA flood maps, county tsunami evacuation maps, and site-specific conditions should be reviewed.
• Wastewater systems. Not every property has the same wastewater infrastructure. Buyers should establish whether a home uses a sewer connection, septic system, or cesspool and understand the applicable inspection, maintenance, and conversion requirements. My journal article on wastewater systems on Hawaiʻi Island walks through what buyers should establish before an offer.
• Permits and improvements. Older homes sometimes have additions or alterations whose permit status requires investigation. Buyers should verify county records rather than assume all existing improvements were approved.
• Property access and infrastructure. Road conditions, drainage, utilities, and water supply should be evaluated individually, especially outside central Hilo.

Hilo can offer a different range of purchase opportunities from the luxury resort communities, but price comparisons need to account for condition, location, land tenure, and the cost of future maintenance. For the comparison framework I use with buyers, see where to look on Hawaiʻi Island , Part 3 of my buyer’s guide.

Who Does Hilo Suit?

Hilo appeals to people who appreciate a genuine working town, established communities, abundant vegetation, and access to everyday services.

It can be an excellent choice for buyers who value culture, education, gardening, outdoor recreation, and a slower pace than many mainland cities.

It may be less appealing to someone who wants consistently dry weather, broad sandy beaches, or a resort-oriented lifestyle. And although parts of Hilo are pleasantly walkable, most residential neighborhoods still require a car for many daily activities.

For investors, the presence of educational institutions, healthcare employers, government offices, and local businesses creates several potential sources of long-term rental demand. Actual rental performance, however, depends on the individual property, price, condition, location, and current market conditions.

Hilo deserves to be experienced rather than judged from a map or a weather report. Spend time downtown, visit the waterfront, explore the neighborhoods, and see how the town feels on both a sunny morning and a rainy afternoon.

If Hilo interests you as a place to live or invest, I’d be happy to help you explore its neighborhoods and evaluate available properties.