Hakalau, Hawaii

Hakalau is a small unincorporated community located along the Hamakua coast about 15 miles (24 km) north of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was once a thriving, multiethnic sugar plantation town up until the early 1960s at which time the plantation originally called Hakalau Plantation Co. began to be phased-out. Small family farms now exist growing tropical fruits, taro, flowers, coffee, or cattle. Some historical sites remain from the plantation era. The privately owned sugar plantation managers home built in the early 1900s still exists today, along with two warehouses built in 1920 and an old theater, presently operating as the Hakalau U.S. Post Office. Located just below the ocean cliff where the Hakalau stream meets the bay, the old sugar mill ruins are still visible. During the 1800s the Hakalau Bay was used to transfer goods and passengers from smaller boats to larger ships. Today, the bay has been used mostly by local surfers and fisherman. Hakalau now has a small, day use, state owned park with picnic tables and ocean access for recreational use, located at the bottom of the Hakalau gulch.