Volcanoes National Park: Big Island, Hawaii

About 10 members of the Park's staff volunteered to assist with the first public exploratory ride on Kahuku Ranch in Ka'u. They greeted guests with smiles and expressed genuine excitement about the potential for mountain biking in the park.
Superintendent Cindy Overland helped her grandson brush his tricycle of foreign soil and seeds at the mandatory decontamination station.
Volunteers from Friends of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park registered nearly 50 riders, from as far away as the island of O'ahu. The Friends group acquired six new members as a result of their involvement in the event.
A ride like no other, riders enjoyed Park Ranger Kipono serenading them with his ukulele.
A survey concluded that 68 percent of visitors would be interested in volunteering to maintain mountain bike trails in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Hopefully the park will secure funding for the management of Kahuku Ranch, allowing for permanent mountain bike trails. The parcel offers a beautiful landscape with undulating terrain, mature trees and lava fields.
Park Ranger Kipono serenades riders with his ukulele as they enjoy their first mountain bike adventure in the new Kahuku unit of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Click here to view the video.

The dramatic and ever-changing volcanic landscape at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park draws thousands of visitors each year. Thanks to IMBA's 2005 Memorandum of Understanding with the National Park Service, Hawaii Volcanoes was of 12 visits IMBA made in 2006 to National Parks throughout the country.

The park recently acquired 116,000 acres of ranch land that will be opened to the public as soon as funding to manage the parcel can be secured. Mardie Lane, the park's lead Interpretive Ranger, requested a visit from the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew to assess the newly acquired land for mountain bike trail compatibility. As a test pilot event, the park opened the gates for one Saturday, designated 15-miles of trails for mountain bikers to ride, and invited IMBA to help evaluate the park's potential for mountain biking.

Read the NPS press release for the event.