Maui's take on a black sand beach includes an incredible sea cave and blowhole.
After quite a bit of driving on the Road to Hana, you begin to become fatigued with all of the waterfalls, curves, and tiny bridges, so the Black Sand Beach.
At this state park, which 98% of visitors will not even attempt to pronounce, one can easily lose track of time.
After passing through a small residential neighborhood to access, you'll find a small, paved parking area for your vehicle.
Years ago, you could access and swim in freshwater caves, but after a tourist death, they have been closed to the public.
Beyond the freshwater caves, there is still plenty to enjoy at this park, beginning with the black sand beach known as Pailoa. The beach itself if absolutely picturesque, surrounded by lush fauna, hovering palm trees, and a narrow stretch of the ocean.
The "sand" itself changes in texture in some spots. In some places, its more refined, a bit larger than typical sand. In other spots, it is made up of various-sized black pebbles. You can catch it if you listen in the video below, but when the tide quickly pulls back out, the pebbles rubbing against one another made an interesting sound. I found myself stationary in one spot, listening to this sound over and over as the tide came in and went out. One piece of advice however is to wear some sort of footwear on this beach as it is not easy on the feet.
At the south end of the black sand beach, and relatively easy to miss at the bottom of the stairwell is lava tube (cave). It's remarkable that you can climb all of the way through it (the early go has the shortest clearance) to another small beach on the opposite side. You'll often find the cave dripping water down upon you, a welcome coolant on a hot day. If the tide is particularly aggressive as it was on the day I visited, much of the water will splash into the cave. You'll probably want to avoid the impact as the pebbles are not easy on the feet and depending on the strength of the wave, it could throw you into some nearby (sharp) rocks.
Finally, the south end offers a blow hole, and this one rarely disappoints. We went shortly after Maui had a tremendous amount of storms, so the ocean was particularly violent. Every few minutes, the blowhole on our right was spitting of buckets full of water. To our left, large sea waves were colliding with the volcanic walls and creating powerful splashes and subsequent miniature waterfalls from the rocks. On a calmer day, you can also see a sea arch down below, but this would not be that day.
The balance of the has restroom facilities, picnic tables, and many more trails to explore. I'd consider the black sand beach, lave tube, and blowhole all to be attractions worth seeing on their own merit, so getting all 3 in one stop is an incredible boon!
Know Before You Go
The paved parking area, while much larger than most parking on the Road to Hana, is still relatively small. You may be forced to park further away if you go at a busy time.
This is deeper into the Road to Hana journey, so make sure you're watching the time throughout the day so that you don't arrive too late.
Footwear is a must for this beach - it isn't soft sand!
Use loads of caution in the sea cave and near the blow hole. One slip and you could be experiencing a world of hurt.
The freshwater caves really aren't worth the trespassing to see them. There's so much to see and do on the way to Hana that trying to seek these out isn't worth it.
Resources
Location
Found after mile marker 32 on the Road to Hana. You'll drive through a small community, under some large trees, and eventually arrive at the parking lot
Video
The video below provides views of the black sand beach (Pailoa), the sea cave, and the blow hole. Be sure to pay attention for the cat at 0:25, the sound of the pebbles with the outgoing tide at 1:55, and the power of the blow hole at 2:25.
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