Mauna Loa 29er

Routes

• Mauna Loa Observatory Trail — ~6–13 mi from the end of the observatory road
• ʻAinapō Trail — the long historic route up from near sea level

You can drive the Mauna Loa Observatory Road to ~11,000 ft, then hike a high, lava-strewn trail to the 13,678 ft summit. But like its neighbor Mauna Kea, only the top ~13,700 ft is above water — the rest of the mountain is underwater, so nobody climbs the full ~30,085 ft.

Trip Reports

Plenty of visitors reach this summit — most of them never realizing they are standing on Earth’s tallest mountain. Post your report!

Map

Island of Hawaiʻi, United States — 19.48° N, 155.61° W.

Google Maps

Conditions — Mauna Loa

Actual weather! Wind, snow, and breathable air (less of it the higher you go). Comparatively hospitable — and, by solar-system standards, comparatively tiny. Like its taller twin Mauna Kea, the hard part is the drive, not the air — bring a jacket, not a spacesuit.

  Summit: 30,085 ft (~9.17 km from the Pacific seafloor (~17 km counting the crust it depresses)).