Right around the corner from where I stayed. It's clothing optional. Some folks enjoyed…read moresummersaults and tree climbing in there nothingness. The waves can be quite strong. It's pretty, and popular.

Beautiful beach. Ocean is rough, no lifeguards. The hike…read moredown to the beach is difficult. So be careful. There are 2 separate ways to get to the beach. It's very quiet, black sand beach. There was less than 25% of those in the nude during our few hours on the beach, no one seem to flaunt about. Just carefree individuals.

Have you ever wanted to take a walk on an alien planet? What a strange and beautiful landscape…read more There aren't a lot of tourists here, and getting here means turning off the Google Maps once you're near and using an old fashioned map with a little sense of adventure. I think most people end up in the parking lot wondering "is this the place?" Follow the home drawn signs and keep walking. Don't dress for swimming, this isn't a swimming beach, wear sturdy shoes, workout shoes with good support or even hiking boots. Wear a hat to protect your head and sunscreen before you get out (it takes a few minutes for sunscreen to work). There is no way I can prepare you for what you will see, it's not like anything else I've ever encountered. So bizarre, so uncommonly beautiful.

We loved the black sand beach with turtles coming in to rest. Not much sand mostly rocks and the…read moreday we went it was windy and I wouldn't swim.

We found out about this oceanside swimming pool (250 feet long)from the Big Island Revealed app…read more It's five feet deep in some spots. Bring your water shoes and snorkel gear! It's 2.7 miles north of the corner from Highway 132 and 137 (so, go North on Government Beach Road). This is a paved road. Around 2.7 miles, you'll come across a small hill, on the downside of the hill, you'll see a dirt road on your right through a hau bush (twisted looking trees that are entwined). If you hit Pakaka Road, you went too far. There is no parking lot. There is a small one-spot parking space that you can back into (perpendicular to the road). There are two roadside beams indicating this spot. You can also park along the road. From Government Beach Road, on the dirt road, it's 1500 feet to the shoreline. The pool is 100 yards to the left once you hit the shoreline. I do not recommend driving down the path to the shoreline because the branches are low and it's super muddy. It's an easy walk. Towards the shoreline, you'll see an abandoned turquoise minivan. It's obvious that someone was squatting in the van at some point. The engine has been torn out, windows broken, carry-out boxes everywhere, and the rainforest has started to entwine itself with the car. On the coast, there were more signs of squatters. The pool was beautiful. We went during high tide and the pools were super full and the waves were crashing hard against the rocks. The app said we should go during low tide...whoops. We didn't run into a single person. It was super secluded and beautiful. Although the walk was really neat through the hau bush and having an oceanside swimming pool to ourselves was cool...I would not do this again. Honestly, I didn't feel safe. We didn't see any squatters but the signs made me uneasy. There is no cellphone signal and your completely isolated. I recommend this for large groups of people only.

Loved this 5 miles round trip hike to the beach. Huge variety of vegetation and most of the trail…read moretramps through a tree forest. The tree forest is interesting with some abandoned and vegetation encrusted old jeeps and cars, historic rock walls and towards the end, spur trails to the sea cliffs, and a collapsed lava tube. At the end is a gorgeous bay favored by sea turtles. We saw at least 23 turtles on our visit. Please note that this trail is muddy and very muddy in spots even when it has not been raining, and the footing is very uneven so it is not for the casual walker, for flip flops or any shoes that you don't mind getting very muddy. I found that having hiking poles was helpful in order to gage how thick the mud was at various places on the pathway. Go early as it is very humid by late morning or mid day.

Read the reviews. Is it muddy and rocky and uneven? YES. But it's mostly in the shade! Be prepared,…read morehave the right shoes, take your time, a lot of the really bad spots and walk around areas etc. if you're not careful, you will end up covered in mud. The beach is neat, we enjoyed snorkeling. Be careful as there can be some strong currents on the far left side (if you're looking out) according to some locals we met.

We stumbled upon this park on our way to the "End of the Road" and really enjoyed our time here. We…read morehad planned on visiting a black sand beach and found this one serendipitously. Its like being at goth beach and I truly appreciated it. We took a ton of photos and when we got too close to the Wahi Kapu sign it started raining on us out of nowhere, so we took that as a sign to walk back to the car. That being said we would absolutely recommend coming here, its spectacular.

2025 is different from 2024, in between they tried to put in the boat launch which didn't work. The…read morehot ponds are still here and toasty. Some palms are growning, very little shade near the water.

The black sand beach that was formed by the 2018 eruption - the newest black sand beach! The sand…read moreitself is super black, and the waves at this beach are super strong - so I wouldn't recommend going in to swim. As time goes, the sand won't be as black anymore - so better visit soon! Also there is no cell phone signal around this area, so you better take note of how you came here.

Very cool new beach that formed post lava flow in the beach park. It may not be here for long and…read morehas a very odd energy being it is new land. I'd recommend taking a trip to check it out before it erodes away. Isn't that a crazy thing to think about.

A far far drive, but well worth every minute! Punalu'u Beach is a gem, wonder of the Earth!…read more The black sand beach is absolutely stunning! I appreciate the the boundaries they have in place to protect the turtles from tourists and keep their environment as sacred and safe as possible. It's truly a spiritual experience and a must visit!

We stopped here for just a bit while we were on our way to volcanoes national Park. We were with a…read moregeologist with Hawaiian GEO tours. You can climb the lava rocks and enjoy the amazing waves that are coming in or you can walk over to the black beach. We were told the black beach is formed as the lava from volcanic eruptions hits the water it ends up, exploding somewhat, and creating this black sand beach. It's warm to the touch. The green sea turtles love to come here and lay in the sand as it helps regulate their body temperature so the beach has cordoned off an area for them so they have a safe spot to rest. There are restrooms here as well as a pretty large picnic shelter as this seems to be a stop on many excursions on this island. It's free and everything was fairly clean. We really enjoyed this amazing part of the world.

Peaceful and beautiful location for the whole family to enjoy the Hawaiian seashore a local turtle…read morenamed "Bubbles" also frequently visits this spot and can be seen in the protected cove

Fun place for kids. I would never come here without kids. The place was nice but they seriously…read moreneed to clean the bathrooms. I'm literally traumatized at how disgusting it was, floor was flooded, stepped in god knows what, then in the toilet there were 3 HUGE roaches walking around, horrible.

Clean, family beach. Love the wildlife and the workers of the museum were very knowledgeableread more

For more advance swimmers and more open waters this is your spot. Perfect for snorkeling and…read moreexploring the sea life swim past you. The vibrant colors shimmer at you while you take in the magic of the island as you soak up the sunshine and cold waters. During low time the waters are calmer and great for splashing around. Against the lava rocks are some crawling crabs that camouflage with the rocks so you will see them scurrying around. Parking along the road fills up quick and is rare to get the open waters without running into human feet and bodies as you are snorkel around. Added bonus the public restrooms. Remember to take care of the land and leave it better than you saw it and enjoy!