Holoholokai Beach Park

There's a certain kind of magic on the Kohala Coast. A raw energy that hums just beneath the surface. Most people come to the Big Island chasing postcard images of white sand and turquoise water. And we have that, of course. But there are other places. Places that whisper stories of an older Hawaiʻi. Places like Holoholokai Beach Park.

It's not a beach for swimming. It's a shoreline for listening.

The first time I came here, it wasn't the ocean that pulled me in. It was the land itself. A dramatic, salt-and-pepper coastline that felt like a gateway to something ancient.

Holoholokai is not a destination in itself. It's a puka—an opening or doorway—to a profound journey. This park sits within the luxurious Mauna Lani Resort. It serves as the guardian and gateway to the Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve. One of the most significant cultural sites in all of Hawaiʻi.

Holoholokai: A Shoreline of Salt, Pepper, and Secrets

First Impressions of a Different Kind of Paradise

The drive to Holoholokai is an experience in contrasts. You turn off the Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway into the manicured world of the Mauna Lani Resort. A landscape of lush green fairways and swaying palms. Following the signs for the "Beach Park," you feel the resort atmosphere slowly give way to something wilder. More elemental.

When you finally park and walk toward the ocean, the view is breathtaking. But not in the way you might expect.

Instead of a gentle slope of golden sand, you're greeted by a dramatic, rugged shoreline. It's a stunning mosaic of jet-black ʻaʻā and pāhoehoe lava rock. Tumbled into smooth, rounded chunks by the relentless surf. Mixed with the brilliant white of sun-bleached coral rubble. It truly looks like a salt-and-pepper beach.

The sound here is different, too. It's not the soft shush of waves on sand. It's a deeper, percussive roar as the powerful Pacific crashes against the unyielding rock. The air is thick with salt spray. The gnarled, thorny branches of kiawe trees offer pockets of welcome shade against the intense Kohala sun.

This isn't a place for laying out a towel and dozing off. It's a place that commands your attention and invites you to explore its raw beauty.

Understanding the Land and the Water

The dramatic landscape of Holoholokai is a direct result of the island's fiery birth. This coastline is built upon the ancient lava flows of Kohala. The Big Island's oldest volcano, which has been silent for some 120,000 years. Over millennia, the powerful ocean has relentlessly battered these flows. Breaking them down and mixing them with fragments of the offshore coral reef to create the unique salt-and-pepper shoreline we see today.

Instead of swimming, this is a perfect spot for other, more contemplative activities. The shoreline is dotted with fascinating tide pools. Here you can discover a microcosm of ocean life. Tiny fish, crabs, and sea urchins thriving in the rocky crevices. It's also a favorite spot for our beloved honu, the Hawaiian green sea turtles. If you come in the late afternoon and sit quietly, you have a very good chance of seeing them haul themselves out of the water to bask on the warm rocks. Remember to give them plenty of space and enjoy their peaceful presence from a respectful distance.