Puako Hawaii Map

About Puako, Hawaii

Puako is a locality in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is a small community with a population of 267. The population density is 32.1 people per km². Puako is located at 19.9674°N, 155.8481°W. It observes the Hawaii Standard Time — no DST (Pacific/Honolulu) timezone. ZIP code: 96743.

Puako stretches across a jagged expanse of volcanic rock where the earth meets the Pacific Ocean in a slow, rhythmic collision of tide and basalt. It lies 52.3 miles west-northwest of Hilo, HI (from Hilo, HI: bearing 289°T), and is situated 2.7 miles north-northwest of Waikoloa Village. This landscape, held firmly within the State Department of Land State Resource Management Area, is defined by the stark contrast between the sun-bleached shoreline and the distant, cooling silhouette of Mauna Kea rising against the horizon. Inland, the terrain rises toward Kamakoa Gulch, while the air carries a faint, salt-crusted stillness that settles over the nearby Keanapou Fishpond. The light here has a crystalline quality, turning the water a brilliant, translucent turquoise that seems to hold the very heat of the afternoon in its depths.

Puako preserves a quiet legacy of early coastal settlement, where the echoes of ancient maritime traditions linger in the sheltered coves and tide pools. The economy, once tethered to the rhythms of the sea and the surrounding arid land, now moves with the patient, unhurried pace of those who live by the kuleana of the coast. While the Kīholo-Puakō Trail offers a path toward the island of Pōhakulua, the local character remains anchored in a profound respect for the natural boundaries of the shoreline. Far from the distant rush of Kemole Falls or the distant greenery of the Kaʻūpūlehu Forest Reserve, life here is measured by the steady, persistent pulse of the Pacific Ocean as it washes over the black, weathered stone that defines the edge of the world.

About This Puako Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Puako, Hawaii. Coordinates: 19.967382, -155.848076. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Puako includes the ZIP code (96743), telephone area code (808), county seat of Hawaii County (Hilo), and school district assignment (Hawaii Department of Education).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.