R1S on "R1 Road" on the Big Island of Hawaii 7-1-2024

[shrink]

Took my 2023 Gen 1 Quad Large R1S (named Pele) on what is literally called R1 Road (aka Mauna Kea Access Road; Kahinahina Rd) earlier today. Off shoot roads also include R2, R3, etc (up to R12 or 13?).

Incredibly appropriate road names!

I’ll add more notes later but just a TLDR for now:

- Stunning views of 4 volcanoes (Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, and even Haleakala on Maui in the distance)
- Saw the most stunning plant I’ve ever seen in my life, the rare silversword (pictured below)
- not a hard trail, just very long @ about 35 miles and with a peak elevation of just over 9500 feet. Took 6 hours including a lunch stop.
- was honestly worried about range on the back end - with lots of unexpected uphill climbs - some requiring rock crawl mode up steep switchbacks - but had enough. Left Kona @ 97 % SOC and 100 ft elevation and got back with 31%. Total mileage was about 138 with elevation change from 100 to 9500 back to 100 and 34 miles of off-roading at the base of a volcano.

Some photos:

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[COdogman]

Great pics! Some of that terrain looks alien.?

 

[BUFFinHI]

Nice trip! We are looking forward to taking our R1S around the mountain from the access road to Waimea via Mana Rd.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Took my 2023 Gen 1 Quad Large R1S (named Pele) on what is literally called R1 Road (aka Mauna Kea Access Road; Kahinahina Rd) earlier today. Off shoot roads also include R2, R3, etc (up to R12 or 13?).

Incredibly appropriate road names!

I’ll add more notes later but just a TLDR for now:

- Stunning views of 4 volcanoes (Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, and even Haleakala on Maui in the distance)
- Saw the most stunning plant I’ve ever seen in my life, the rare silversword (pictured below)
- not a hard trail, just very long @ about 35 miles and with a peak elevation of just over 9500 feet. Took 6 hours including a lunch stop.
- was honestly worried about range on the back end - with lots of unexpected uphill climbs - some requiring rock crawl mode up steep switchbacks - but had enough. Left Kona @ 97 % SOC and 100 ft elevation and got back with 31%. Total mileage was about 138 with elevation change from 100 to 9500 back to 100 and 34 miles of off-roading at the base of a volcano.

Some photos:

Stealth Red with Big Island Dust on it really pops!

 

[mikehmb]

Love it! Have seen 2 limestone R1Ts (one of which was towing an enormous boat) since we got back. Hoping to get my truck out here at some point.

I did a gravel bike ride up Mauna Kea and wanted to die after. Would have been a lot more pleasant to go up Mauna Loa to the flow, but hey, why enjoy something when you could suffer instead.

 

[shrink]

Nice trip! We are looking forward to taking our R1S around the mountain from the access road to Waimea via Mana Rd.

Nice! Let me know how that goes. I thought about Mana Road. I was in my Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk last time on Mana Road. Started in Waimea but turned around near the halfway point. It was raining and the rocks looked pretty nasty. Felt like I needed more ground clearance which the R1S has of course. I could actually see parts of Mana Road from above on the R1 Road.

I also remember there being a giant mud pit so to speak in that area where a bunch of ATV riders were having a blast.

 

[shrink]

Love it! Have seen 2 limestone R1Ts (one of which was towing an enormous boat) since we got back. Hoping to get my truck out here at some point.

I did a gravel bike ride up Mauna Kea and wanted to die after. Would have been a lot more pleasant to go up Mauna Loa to the flow, but hey, why enjoy something when you could suffer instead.

That sounds miserable. I was tired driving up Mauna Kea. Can’t imagine biking but good for you! I’ve seen cyclists going up Saddle Road and I am amazed.

 

[shrink]

Just a few follow up notes/thoughts - especially for anyone on island thinking of doing this:

1) Please be more cautious than I was. I noticed some side wall damage to a tire after I washed it. I don't have a spare and the trail is VERY remote. Cell service is spotty and it would take a long time for help to come. Some of the lava rock is very sharp. I did air down but the sidewalls on the OEM 20" Pirelli's seem a little weak. I would NOT do this trial again without a spare and with a friend in another vehicle for support.

2) Also check the weather forecast! If it's raining, the 2nd half of the trail would potentially be pretty difficult between poor visibility on switchbacks and wet rocks on steep inclines.

3) If doing this in a Rivian, consider topping up your charge in Waimea then heading to the trail. You'll then have the range to check out some side trails. The R6 trail looked very interesting (per Trails Offroad) but with the elevation killing our range I didn't want to take any chances.

From Trails Offroad:

4) A good alternate to the whole trail would be starting from just before the Mauna Kea visitor center to the Silversword area and then turning back. It would only be a couple hours rather than the 6 it took us for the whole trial.

5) The Silverswords were probably the highlight of the trip. Absolutely amazing. Some quick info for anyone interested:

https://www.hawaii-guide.com/content/posts/silverswords_of_hawaii

6) At the end of the trail, I remembered there was also an impressive view of Hualalai, so one sees 5 volcanos on this route!

7) The Rivian nav showed this entire trail (and the offshoots). Here's a screenshot below. Just could not get enough of seeing R1 on the map:

 

[lefkonj]

Favorite area on the planet, great photos.

 

[Glembi2]

Took my 2023 Gen 1 Quad Large R1S (named Pele) on what is literally called R1 Road (aka Mauna Kea Access Road; Kahinahina Rd) earlier today. Off shoot roads also include R2, R3, etc (up to R12 or 13?).

Incredibly appropriate road names!

I’ll add more notes later but just a TLDR for now:

- Stunning views of 4 volcanoes (Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, and even Haleakala on Maui in the distance)
- Saw the most stunning plant I’ve ever seen in my life, the rare silversword (pictured below)
- not a hard trail, just very long @ about 35 miles and with a peak elevation of just over 9500 feet. Took 6 hours including a lunch stop.
- was honestly worried about range on the back end - with lots of unexpected uphill climbs - some requiring rock crawl mode up steep switchbacks - but had enough. Left Kona @ 97 % SOC and 100 ft elevation and got back with 31%. Total mileage was about 138 with elevation change from 100 to 9500 back to 100 and 34 miles of off-roading at the base of a volcano.

Some photos:

Pele is an awesome name for your truck! ‘A’ā and Pāhoehoe would be too hard to explain.

Seeing a silversword is on my bucket list. Last year, I crossed this one of the list - an alula - and not too far away from you (maybe a little water in between)

 

[NashvilleR1S]

So awesome! I went to Maui for the first time this summer and was impressed by how many Rivians I saw!

 

[Thunderbolt Adventure]

Took my 2023 Gen 1 Quad Large R1S (named Pele) on what is literally called R1 Road (aka Mauna Kea Access Road; Kahinahina Rd) earlier today. Off shoot roads also include R2, R3, etc (up to R12 or 13?).

Incredibly appropriate road names!

I’ll add more notes later but just a TLDR for now:

- Stunning views of 4 volcanoes (Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kohala, and even Haleakala on Maui in the distance)
- Saw the most stunning plant I’ve ever seen in my life, the rare silversword (pictured below)
- not a hard trail, just very long @ about 35 miles and with a peak elevation of just over 9500 feet. Took 6 hours including a lunch stop.
- was honestly worried about range on the back end - with lots of unexpected uphill climbs - some requiring rock crawl mode up steep switchbacks - but had enough. Left Kona @ 97 % SOC and 100 ft elevation and got back with 31%. Total mileage was about 138 with elevation change from 100 to 9500 back to 100 and 34 miles of off-roading at the base of a volcano.

Amazing! Love the red R1S. We have a red R1T.

My husband and daughter rode most of that trail on gravel bicycles a few years ago. They started to run out of light so I drove the rental jeep from the opposite direction to pick them up. Was my first time off-roading! Amazing scenery!

 

[mikehmb]

Just a few follow up notes/thoughts - especially for anyone on island thinking of doing this:

1) Please be more cautious than I was. I noticed some side wall damage to a tire after I washed it. I don't have a spare and the trail is VERY remote. Cell service is spotty and it would take a long time for help to come. Some of the lava rock is very sharp. I did air down but the sidewalls on the OEM 20" Pirelli's seem a little weak. I would NOT do this trial again without a spare and with a friend in another vehicle for support.

2) Also check the weather forecast! If it's raining, the 2nd half of the trail would potentially be pretty difficult between poor visibility on switchbacks and wet rocks on steep inclines.

3) If doing this in a Rivian, consider topping up your charge in Waimea then heading to the trail. You'll then have the range to check out some side trails. The R6 trail looked very interesting (per Trails Offroad) but with the elevation killing our range I didn't want to take any chances.

From Trails Offroad:

4) A good alternate to the whole trail would be starting from just before the Mauna Kea visitor center to the Silversword area and then turning back. It would only be a couple hours rather than the 6 it took us for the whole trial.

5) The Silverswords were probably the highlight of the trip. Absolutely amazing. Some quick info for anyone interested:

https://www.hawaii-guide.com/content/posts/silverswords_of_hawaii

6) At the end of the trail, I remembered there was also an impressive view of Hualalai, so one sees 5 volcanos on this route!

7) The Rivian nav showed this entire trail (and the offshoots). Here's a screenshot below. Just could not get enough of seeing R1 on the map:

Where would you top up in Waimea?

 

[shrink]

Where would you top up in Waimea?

At the KTA:

 

[JOSH565]

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