When you turn off the highway heading for the coast you recognize a difference from the highway right away. The houses leading up to the park have goats grazing in the front yard and the vegetation even seems larger and fuller than on the highway.

The park itself is a location of tragedy. In the 40’s a school was located on this site and when the 1946 tsunami hit with waves up to 25 feet ,21 children and 3 adults were washed out to sea not to be seen again. A memorial is located at the park close to the sea with all the names of those lost on that fateful day etched in its face.

This park is also the location of an epic love story. A young school teacher from Iowa was teaching at Laupahoehoe School for adventure after she graduated from college. On the day the tsunami hit she was out on the lawn taking pictures of her friends and the beautiful Pacific Ocean ,dreaming of the first date she was to have that evening with a man she had met in town. As she was daydreaming the tsunami came in , not knowing what it was she took pictures until she realized that she was in danger. She was washed out to sea and was lucky enough to grab onto a buoyant piece of lighthouse that drifted by, she floated all day, and night was about to set in , she didn’t know if she would live or die. or how many more days she had to be out at sea. Off in the distance she saw a small boat and they fortunately saw her as well. When the boat arrived to rescue the school teacher realized that her rescuer was the same man she had a date with that same evening. They later married.

The park itself is beautiful. The rolling lawn of grass with the backdrop of crashing waves against black jagged lava demands your full attention. The sea is much too rugged here to participate in water sports but you can camp and play volleyball, basketball and have picnics in the pavilions. The park is located 1 mile off highway 19 at the 27 mile marker.