The Ponoholo Ranch on Kohala Mountain is one of the most beautiful ranches on the Big Island. This 11,000 acre cattle ranch covering 3 climate zones stretches from the rain forest at 4,800 feet to the ocean. It has the second largest herd of cattle on the island, 6,000 to 8,000, after the Parker Ranch. The ranch is operated in an environmentally sensitive manner through intensive rotational grazing which maximizes nutritional opportunities for the cattle thereby reducing damage to the land through erosion and overgrazing. The cattle raised on the Ponoholo Ranch are sent to the mainland in livestock ships after they are weaned from their mothers. They are then trucked to pasture or to feed lots primarily in Texas.

The Ranch offers awe inspiring views of the Pacific Ocean, the Kohala and Kona coastline and the Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai volcanoes on the Big Island and the Haleakala Volcano on Maui.

Paniolo Adventures is the Premier Open Range Horseback Riding operation on the Big Island. We have operated on the Ponoholo Ranch for more than 25 years. In riding the open range our guests get to experience what it was like to be a paniolo in the old days of North Kohala. The red lei lehua on the hat in the Paniolo Adventures logo is the traditional lei worn on the hats of the paniolos of the Big Island.

Feel like a real paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) when you outfit yourself with our boots, hats, chaps and Australian dusters and ride the range dotted with grazing cattle.

Learn More about the Paniolo history