Visitors who come to Keauhou for tennis or pickleball often wonder about the name on the sign. Hōlua is the traditional Hawaiian sport of land sledding, and Keauhou is home to the best-preserved hōlua slide in the islands. The slide runs downhill toward the coast and ends at Kaleiopapa Street — the same street as the Holua courts.
What was hōlua?
According to the National Park Service, hōlua was a sport of sled riding down a prepared slope. Riders used a papa hōlua, a long, narrow sled made from local trees, which could be up to 14 feet long and weigh as much as 50 pounds. Riders could reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Racing was reserved for the aliʻi (chiefs), usually during the Makahiki — a four-month winter season of celebration honoring the god Lono. Races involved gambling, and a rider who lost control could be badly hurt or killed.
The Keauhou Hōlua Slide
The National Park Service describes the Keauhou slide as the largest and best preserved hōlua slide in Hawaiʻi. Today it runs for about 1,300 feet and ends at Kaleiopapa Street; archaeologists estimate that it once extended about 4,000 feet, probably reaching Keauhou Bay. It is a National Historic Landmark; Wikipedia's Keauhou article notes that Paul J. F. Schumacher filed the nomination form on June 28, 1962.
Keauhou and its bay
Keauhou is an unincorporated community on the Kona coast of Hawaiʻi Island, just south of Kailua-Kona, with Kahaluʻu Bay directly to its north. Keauhou Bay is a historic area — it is the birthplace of Kamehameha III. The hōlua slide, the bay and the surrounding sites make the neighborhood one of the richest historical landscapes on the island.
Slide and courts, side by side
| Keauhou Hōlua Slide | Holua courts | |
|---|---|---|
| Street | Ends at Kaleiopapa Street | 78-7190 Kaleiopapa Street |
| Who played | Aliʻi (chiefs), mainly during Makahiki | Members and drop-in visitors |
| Equipment | Papa hōlua sled, up to 14 ft and 50 lb | Racquets and paddles |
| Status | National Historic Landmark | Private tennis and pickleball facility |
The shared street is the clearest link between the two: the facility's address and the National Park Service's description of the slide's lower end both point to Kaleiopapa Street, so the courts take their name from the landmark uphill.
Decline and revival
Hōlua declined during the 19th century. The National Park Service notes that the sport is being rediscovered and reintroduced today, as part of wider interest in traditional Hawaiian games.
Visiting respectfully
- Treat the slide as an archaeological and cultural site: stay off the stonework and do not move or stack rocks.
- Check access before you go; the National Park Service page describes the slide but does not give visitor access details.
- Combine a look at the landscape with a visit to Keauhou Bay, the historic setting at the slide's estimated original end.
Back to the courts: the Holua center · Kona public courts.