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We've compiled the best of the best in Laupahoehoe - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Here the surf pounds the jagged black rocks at the base of a stunning point, lending a savage beauty to the place. But be advised: this is not a safe place for swimming, so bring only cameras and picnics, not swimsuits. Still vivid in the minds of longtime area residents is the 1946 tragedy in which 21 schoolchildren and three teachers were swept out to sea by a tsunami, back in the days when there was no early warning system.
Behind a stone loading platform of the once-famous Hawaii Consolidated Railway, constructed about 1900, the former manager's house is now a museum and a reminder of the era when sugar was the local cash crop. It displays artifacts from the sugar plantation era, the 1946 tsunami, local railway history, and the rich culture of the Hamakua Coast. The museum's Wye railyard has a vintage switch engine, large standard-gauge caboose, and narrow-gauge explosives boxcar. The trains even run a few yards along the restored tracks on special occasions. Call before coming: hours may vary according to docent availability.
