Jurassic Earth Day Ride

Adventure awaits!

In celebration of Earth Day, we decided to surround ourselves with the beauty of Kualoa Ranch, nestled on the island of O’ahu in Hawaii. This awe-inspiring destination boasts unparalleled views and a sense of familiarity, perhaps due to its frequent appearances on both the big and small screens. You may recognize Kualoa Ranch from your favorite movies and TV shows, as it has served as a backdrop for countless productions!

Boasting two listings on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places since the 1970s, Kualoa Ranch Private Nature Reserve is owned and managed by sixth-generation descendants of Dr. Gerritt P. Judd. The ranch’s mission is to enrich people’s lives by preserving Kualoa’s sacred lands and celebrating its history.

While there are many ways to explore the ranch, you already know our preferred method! To help tackle the many hills, we took advantage of an electric mountain bike. 

Fellow riders taking their bikes for a test spin at the start of our ride.

Our adventure began with a safety briefing from our knowledgeable guide, who got us familiar with our bikes. With excitement building, we set out to explore the breathtaking expanse of Kualoa, Hakipu’u, and Ka’a’awa, covering over 4,000 acres of unspoiled beauty.

We’re off!

From the title, we’re sure you already guessed the theme of this ride — JURASSIC! The ranch has a long history with the popular movie trilogies Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. We literally got to ride through parts of Jurassic Park! 

A cheeky raptor caged near where we grabbed our bikes.

Early on the ride, we made our way through the first gates to hop on the path to Jurassic Valley, watch out for raptors and mud!

Before we entered Jurassic Valley, we stopped at Battery Cooper Bunker, built in 1944 to protect O’ahu’s Kāne’ohe Bay following the events of Pearl Harbor. Today, it serves as a tribute to the many movies and TV shows filmed on the ranch, including Jumanji, Kong Skull Island, LOST, Godzilla, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P.I., and 50 First Dates, just to name a few.

All of the guides were so great and knowledgeable.

True bunker vibes in this room.

A King Kong mural to commemorate its filming at the ranch.

More dinos before you exit the bunker!

One of the actual vehicles used in Jurassic World! You can even hop in and get a picture if you'd like.

View from the bunker entrance and exit.

Breathtaking!

After our tour of the bunker, we were treated to a descent into one of the valleys of the park. The beautiful scenery is easy to get lost in. Before we left this stunning location we had the opportunity to stage a Tyrannosaurus rex chase. We’ll leave that to your imagination until you get the chance to visit ;) .

Views from ​​Kaʻaʻawa Valley .

The crew on the way to our next stop.

A cool stop along the way.

If you look closely at that sunken part of the hill, it is actually a Godzilla footprint! While filming the movie, a set of tracks was dug out, but they were so deep that unsuspecting cattle fell in and had to be helped out the following day.

Jurassic Valley.

Next up we came to a part of Jurassic Valley where several scenes were shot. We got to check out the prop building that is still in place and used in Jurassic World, complete with another caged Raptor. Also, we got a vantage point of another scene location where the Baryonyx scene in Fallen Kingdom took place. Like the entirety of this ride, the views are amazing!

Up close and personal with a velociraptor!

Notice the little tower where the Baryonyx scene was filmed.

No mountains like Hawaii mountains. (also the scene of our postcard down below!)

Continuing our ride, we passed some cattle and even had the opportunity to hit a couple of hills and bike right through a stream. Very hardcore and fun for those of us who were novices! If you are a more experienced rider, be sure to look into the advanced mountain bike ride — we’re sure the course will give you quite the challenge and adventure. 

Our final stop was King Kong Graveyard, where we sized up against the giant skulls and bones from the movie. Our personal favorite was the triceratops skull. Although it is not scientifically accurate to the size of real triceratops skulls, it was fun to imagine them being that size!

Giant triceratops skull from Kong Island.

We also got the chance to see the tree that Dr. Grant, Lexy, and Tim duck behind in the iconic Gallimimus flocking scene from Jurassic Park! That's right, the exact same log! We hid behind it and pictured the scene as the T. rex bursts through the trees. Such a fun way to wrap up our ride through Jurassic Park.

“They're flocking this way!” If you know, you know.

Bonus Location: The Indominus rex Paddock

The Indominus rex paddock.

This stop was accessible with the help of the ATV tour, where we checked out the Indominous Rex paddock from Jurassic World, still featuring the claw marks!

Indominous Rex viewing gallery straight from the movie!

Thank you for coming along on the ride, what was your favorite part? Be sure to tag us in your Earth Day rides and show us how you celebrated by getting outside!