Although there is nothing much at the end of the drive, the road itself is quite interesting and beautiful, going through different types of lava and seeing the different plants that are now growing up there. You pretty much drive to the weather station and then turn around and go back down.

Several reviews have this place confused with Mauna Kea. We knew this was a working weather station (atmospheric research facility) and made special arrangements for a tour. The drive up is not as scary as Mauna Kea- across the street. The planetary observatories are on the north side of Saddle Road and this one is on the SOUTH side. You... More

Don't get confused between "Mauna Kea" Observatory and "Mauna Loa" Observatory as some visitors are. I am a retired science teacher, live in Hawaii, who has escorted students up several times to both observatories. If your tour time is precious, don't waste it driving up Mauna "Loa". Although you get nice views as you drive to the Observatory, the place... More

Amazing!! We drove to the summit in a 2 wheel drive car - there was no snow, so was not a hard drive. The visitor center at mid-point is cool, but getting to the summit and looking down is absolutely breath-taking!! You can feel the affects of the high altitude - very interesting. Don't miss this experience! Also, drive the... More

Was great to be able to know about the stars you are able to see at night. Very informative. We are not alone.

It is worth visiting the observatory around sunset. There are 2 viewing points - one at the very top where the observatory is and one lower where they set up 4 to 6 telescope to view the stars - it's free. We drove up in a standard car to the lower point. If you have a 4 wheel drive you... More

very pretty. Drink caffeine before you go and take an aspirin to avoid headache and fatigue from altitude. Very cold-wear warm clothes.

We absolutely loved this drive - and don't be intimidated by the warnings. In good weather, a 2 wheel drive car is fine - we did it in a small Ford sedan. Lots of interesting perspectives on the island and a very memorable part of our time on the Big Island.

This was an awesome view of the sunset. The moonscape was incredible. You need 4WD to get up here. I had read one of the observatories was open to the public, but we never found it. It was worth the trip up here one. Saddle road can get really foggy, but otherwise the road was fine.