Coastal Quests and Unique Trails

Beyond the volcanoes and the great northern valleys, the Big Island's coastline offers a different kind of adventure. These hikes take you to unique geological wonders and offer fantastic opportunities to see some of our most cherished marine life.

The Quest for Green Sand: Papakōlea Beach Hike

This is one of the most unique hikes on the planet, leading to one of only four green sand beaches in the world. The beach gets its color from olivine crystals eroded from a 49,000-year-old cinder cone. But earning the right to see it requires a serious effort.

The Challenge — A Test of Endurance

Let me be perfectly clear: this is not a casual stroll to the beach. Many sources underrate this hike's difficulty. While the terrain is mostly flat, the 5.5 to 6-mile round-trip trek is across a coastal plain that is hot, dusty, and relentlessly windy, with absolutely no shade. I've seen even experienced hikers find it miserable because they weren't prepared for the exposure. The challenge here isn't elevation gain; it's a battle against the sun and wind.

Turtle Spotting & Coastal Views: Kīholo Bay

If the intensity of the Green Sand Beach hike sounds like too much, Kīholo Bay offers a fantastic, easier coastal alternative with an incredible reward: some of the best turtle viewing on the island.

The Experience — A Coastal Oasis

This is a wonderful, relatively flat 2.8-mile round-trip hike that showcases the serene beauty of the Kohala Coast. The trail takes you along a shoreline that is a stunning mosaic of black lava rock, small black sand beaches, and calm, turquoise tidepools. The highlight of the bay is Wainanaliʻi Pond, a large brackish water lagoon that was once part of an ancient Hawaiian fishpond, destroyed by a lava flow from Mauna Loa in 1859. The mix of fresh spring water and salt water gives the lagoon its stunning color. But the real stars of the show are the honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles) that frequent this bay to rest and feed.