Adjacent to the park is Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, a temple built by Kamehameha I in 1790–91 and dedicated to the war god Kū.

Kū was pleased, and allowed Kamehameha I to wage several subsequent battles using Western military strategy and weapons to extend his control over all Hawaiian Islands.

Passing mile 3, the next feature is the harbor of Kawaihae, built in 1959 as a fuel depot, shipping terminal and military landing site.

The small town surrounding the port features a number of restaurants, shops and art galleries, as well as a popular surfing and canoeing spot.

ʻAkoni Pule Highway crosses into North Kohala District near mile 6 and continues along the rocky coastline with only an occasional dirt road leading mauka (uphill) into rangelands or makai providing access to favored fishing spots.

Just before the mile 14 marker is the entrance to Lapakahi State Historical Park, site of an ancient fishing village that illustrates the traditional land divisions known as ahupuaʻa.

This was also the terminus for the Hawaiian Railroad, a 20-mile (32 km) long, three feet (91 cm) gauge track that brought sugarcane from plantations to waiting steamships.

[2] As ʻAkoni Pule Highway begins a long, sweeping right curve near mile 15, it moves away from the coast and the landscape takes on a different character: the grass is greener, the trees become more abundant, and the air is cooler as the trade winds are able to bring more precipitation to this area.

In front of the latter stands the original Statue of King Kamehameha the Great that was once lost in a shipwreck off South America in 1880 but then recovered and sent to Kapaʻau 32 years later.