Equestrian Community of Kohala Ranch Offers Acreage in Different Hawaii Micro-Climates

The Big Island’s Kohala Ranch is a gated equestrian community of over 3,500 acres conveniently located between the Kohala Mountain Road and Akoni Pule Highway along the Kohala Coast.

Kohala Ranch 

It begins at approximately 100 feet above sea level (within range of the whale songs) to cool up country ranch lands 3,000 feet above the Sea. Four legged pedestrians – horses, wild pigs, and cows – have the right of way on the roads through these range lands.

Micro-Climates of Kohala Ranch

Those who choose to call Kohala Ranch home today live among the different climates of the distinct neighborhoods of Kohala Ranch. Micro-climates from ocean-tropical-arid to cool, misty uplands are found here:

• The Heathers is at the balmy elevation of about 100 feet above the sea to 1,000 feet
• The Meadows lies between 1,600 and 2,100 feet above sea level
• The Summit is from approximately 1,600 feet to over 3,000 feet above sea level

Kohala Ranch – Rich in History & Beauty

Located in the ahupua’a (historic land division) of Waika, between the Kawaihae and Kahua districts of Kohala, this area is as rich in history as it is in beauty; cherished then and now for the vista across Kahuwai-o-pili of an amazing panorama from the mountains to the sea. Today, the beauty of this place continues to awe both the lucky to live here and the lucky to visit.

Early Hawaiians established productive fields amidst the sandalwood forest of Waika. It is believed that sweet potatoes were grown along Kahuwai-o-pili. Today, the walls and terraces of these old fields  still stand scattered throughout the pastures. The sweet potato fields and sandalwood of Waika and Kahua impressed the next wave of settlers with their abundance and stewardship. 

The sandalwood forests were harvested and sold as one of the early commodities of post-contact Hawaii. Subsequent introduction of cattle by ocean voyaging Europeans seeking to establish stores of provisions ended the farms and sandalwood. Cattle ranching practices were introduced and taught to the early paniolo (cowboys) in nearby Kahua, where walls of the first corrals, pens, and a homestead still stand as relics of those first Paniolo.

Kohala Ranch was once part of these pastures. Almost 40 years ago, circumstances and conditions changed for the ranchers. They sold these pastures to be developed into the  Kohala Ranch we know today.