Big Island Buzz - Hawaii

Saddle Road On Big Island Considered One of Americas “Scariest Drives”

June 23rd, 2009 · No Comments · Community

saddleroad 300x200 Saddle Road On Big Island Considered One of Americas Scariest DrivesForbes Traveler has a list of the scariest drives in America, and our own Saddle Road makes the list!

Hawaii has several hair-raising roads, including the sinuous Hana Highway and the switchbacks to the top of Haleakala. But the one that takes the cake is Saddle Road on the Big Island, which threads a vast lave-rock desert between two of the most imposing volcanoes anywhere in the planet. Long-time Big Island resident Jessica Ferracane says the Saddle is especially daunting after dark because there are no facilities, no lights, no nothing. “And if it’s foggy, Saddle can be harsh.”

Add a pinch of vertigo by taking one of the narrow side roads that run off The Saddle to the top of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The former is a whopper-a series of switchbacks and hairpins to the Onizuka Center for Astronomy at 9,300 feet. You can keep driving up an increasingly steep (and treacherous) road to the cluster of silver-domed observatories on the 14,000-foot summit, but you’ll need four-wheel drive to make the top.

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