Hawaiian Paradise Park is a sprawling rural subdivision between Keaau and the coast on the Big Island's east side, home to more than 8,800 building lots, around 10,000 residents, and more roosters than anyone can count. The lot for sale at 15-1999 15th Avenue sits right in the middle of this green, unhurried world.
By the numbers
8,800+
building lots in the park
most around an acre in size
1950s
park founded
all lots sold by 1967
4 mi
from Highway 130 to the ocean
along paved Park roads
~50%
of lots still unimproved
raw parcels like Lot 381 are common
The park was laid out in the late 1950s, with lots going for around $795, and it was sold out by 1967. What remains is an honest grid of mostly acre-sized parcels: paved main avenues, graded side roads, occasional county water, and no CCRs reported to govern what you plant, build, or park.
Highway 130, the Keaau-Pahoa Road, runs along the park's southwest edge, and six miles of park roads carry you from the highway to the shore. It is one of the largest residential subdivisions in the United States, and it somehow still feels like a secret.
Lot 381 sits on a quiet gravel road at the end of a dead-end street with no through traffic. Hilo is 30 to 35 minutes, Pahoa about 15 minutes, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park about 50 minutes.
The park splits between two attendance zones: Keaau Elementary, Keaau Middle and Keaau High on the upper side, Keonepoko Elementary and Pahoa High & Intermediate on the lower side.
County water does not reach every street. Many HPP homes run on catchment, so confirm what is available at the lot before you plan a build.
Off-grid cottages, horse paddocks, orchards and raw jungle lots sit cheek by jowl. Nobody here will tell you how to keep your yard.
Drive times from the lot
Pahoa town
about 15 minutes
along the Keaau-Pahoa Road
Hilo
30 to 35 minutes
roughly 16 to 18 miles
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
about 50 minutes
via Highway 130 and Highway 11
Hilo International Airport (ITO)
30 to 35 minutes
same corridor as Hilo
Schools
Hawaiian Paradise Park is served by the state's Ka'u-Keaau-Pahoa complex area, and which school your lot feeds into depends on where it sits. The upper park points toward Keaau schools; the lower park points toward Keonepoko and Pahoa. Confirm the address with the Hawaii State Department of Education before you commit.
Mauka (upper) attendance zone
Serves the upper portion of the park, on the Keaau side.
Makai (lower) attendance zone
Serves the lower portion toward the ocean side.
Local rhythm
Real places, with their own websites, that neighbors near Lot 381 actually drive to.
The district's weekend market along the Keaau-Pahoa Road: produce, crafts, music, food.
makuu.orgA favorite Pahoa bakery for pastries, bread and strong coffee on the village main street.
Tin Shack Bakery on FacebookPohoiki Bay's county park, with a new black-sand beach and the Pohoiki warm ponds.
TripAdvisor listingAn evening market in Keaau, held the second and fourth Monday from 4 to 7 p.m.
Keaau, HI 96749
About 15 minutes away: Moana Organic Cafe, WoodRose Tea Lounge, and a genuinely funky main street.
Pahoa, HI
Beach Road reaches lava-rock seacliffs for fishing and views, and Paradise Drive runs to the ocean in just over four miles.
Hawaii County PlanningKilauea's lower Puna eruption reshaped this coastline in 2018, burying the old Ahalanui warm ponds and some shoreline access points along Highway 137. It also created the new black-sand beach and warm ponds at Isaac Hale Beach Park. Lava made the landscape you see today, and it is still what keeps the Puna coast from ever feeling predictable.
Ready to see it for yourself
Donna will meet you at the lot, walk the boundaries with you, and answer every question about water, utilities and building in Hawaiian Paradise Park.