Hilo

Hilo is the county seat of Hawaiʻi Island and the rainiest city in the United States — about 127 inches per year. The rain is the point. The whole windward side of the Big Island is layered in waterfalls, fern forests, and rainforest valleys because of it.

Downtown Hilo runs along the bayfront. The architecture is plantation-era wood and tin, much of it on the National Register of Historic Places. Mōʻheau Bandstand hosts free music year-round. The farmers market on Wednesdays and Saturdays is the largest in Hawaiʻi — bring small bills.

Volcanoes National Park is 45 minutes south. Crater Rim Drive circles the Kīlauea caldera. Chain of Craters Road descends 4,000 feet through past lava flows to where lava entered the sea (depending on the eruption — closed sections happen). Park your car, take the rim hikes at dawn, then return after dark for the glow.

ʻAkaka Falls and Rainbow Falls are both within a 30-minute drive. ʻAkaka is a 442-foot single drop. Rainbow Falls is closer to town and named for the morning rainbows that form in its mist. Both have paved walking paths — wheelchair accessible.