At 13,020 ft. one of the highest freshwater lakes in the USA.
1056080528
lake waiau

Lake Waiʻau

Top choice in Maunakea


On an island with a conspicuous dearth of surface water, tiny Lake Waiʻau's existence on a porous lava mountain is something of an enigma. Hawaiian legends say it's bottomless, connecting the realm of the heavens and the earth. As the piko (navel) of the island chain, its waters are the most sacred. Some still place their newborn's umbilical cord in the lake to ensure a strong connection to the gods. To say this place feels significant would be an understatement.

Geologists disagree about what's trapping the water and, frankly, both theories are kind of mind-blowing: glacial silt, or permafrost...in the tropics. Glaciers covered the peak as recently as 13,000 years ago and eruptions under the ice may have formed fine ash. Permafrost (underground ice that never melts) has been found on the nearby summit cone Puʻu Wekiu, though there is no evidence of it here, yet. A third theory – that percolating sulfur gas altered the cinder composition and created clay – is probably most likely correct. Regardless of what's keeping the water here, however, it most certainly comes from rain and snow, as confirmed when the lake almost dried up in 2015 after a long drought.

Park at the paved area on the east side of the Mauna Kea Access Rd just past Mile 6. The 0.7-mile trail to Lake Waiʻau is on the west side of the road just a short way back down the hill.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Maunakea attractions

2. James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

0.81 MILES

You can easily recognize the JCMT by the world's largest sheet of Gore-Tex® which covers the telescope allowing it to operate night and day. Its 49.2ft…

3. University of Hawai‘i 0.9m Telescope

0.86 MILES

Hoku Kea was meant to be a teaching telescope, but the original 0.9m (3ft) mirror was delivered warped and the manufacturer went bankrupt. So, it has…

4. Puʻu Wekiu

0.88 MILES

Hawaiian cultural practitioners ask that visitors respect the sacred true summit of Mauna Kea and not hike the trail to the top of the cinder cone (13…

5. United Kingdom Infrared Telescope

0.89 MILES

Even though this 3.8m (12.5ft) telescope is the second-largest dedicated infrared telescope in the world, it will soon be decommissioned according to the…

6. Submillimeter Array

0.91 MILES

These eight 19.7ft radio telescopes work together (via supercomputer) to create image resolutions equal to an antenna 0.3 miles in diameter. The SMA…

7. Mauna Kea Adz Quarry

0.95 MILES

Quarries scattered over 7.5 sq miles produced tons of exceptionally dense and fine-grained basalt (dubbed Hawaiʻiite) used to make a tool similar to an ax…

8. Mauna Kea's Summit Area

0.95 MILES

At 13,796ft in the air, you are above 40% of the atmosphere and 90% of its water vapor – apparently perfect conditions for growing the giant mushroom-like…