Makalawena Beach

This is our second trek to this beach on our vacation. The first time we parked North of the beach and walked along a rugged vehicle track from the highway. People primarily park at the entrance to Kua Bay state park to access the trail. Today we parked at the first parking lot for Keisha Kai state park and walked the road. This road is safely drivable in 4x4 pick up or jeep. It would have probably trashed our rental suv. It was 2.6 mile walk. The first 1.8 miles are pretty easy walking, although completely exposed and passes through a lava field. We were lucky and there was a strong breeze. The second part that passes by Maihaiula bay Beach was loose lava rubble and then sand. Again all exposed very little shade. The water is turquoise. There are only a few other people around. Bring ple

this beach is a beautiful hidden gem that definitely takes a lot of work to get to. it was empty on a Saturday afternoon, save for a few other folks spread out across the long strip of sand. the beach was clean, no debris from any trees or ocean wash up, and the sand was pristine and a gorgeous white sand. however, getting there is definitely a trek. we didn’t have a 4x4 or even an SUV with enough clearance, so we walked down the unpaved, lava hardened road. that walk took about 25-30 minutes and then we turned off that road to take another rocky path that was another 25-30 minutes. still worth it!! and definitely rewarding seeing the beach come over the horizon.

A must-visit spot — it feels like a little adventure! First you drive down an unpaved road that feels like something out of the Rocky Mountains. Then you park and hike across the lava rock trail, which is an experience in itself. Finally, you reach the beach — and it’s so worth it. The views are absolutely gorgeous, the beach is stunning, and the whole journey makes it feel extra special. Definitely a place you won’t forget.

This beach is beautiful, and I personally love it and its accessibility to snorkeling compared to Black Sand Beach. The waves are also more relaxed and there is a bay as well. Plenty of sand to sunbathe on too. The one thing about this beach is I highly HIGHLY recommend a JEEP or truck to get through to the beach. It is rocky! We rented an AWD SUV and then tried to get through the rocky drive to the beach and had to turn around (I didn’t want to damage the rental). We went back and rented a Jeep and it made it much more fun and doable! I would definitely rent a JEEP on big island 🤙🏼

Totally worth the solid 45-50 min walk down to the beach, parked at the road, need a definitive 4WD with plenty of clearance to get down to the coast, all the vehicles (mostly trucks, few SUVs) had larger than stock tires. On the walk there is no shade, rocky road, did it in flip flops, best beach we found, not a lot of people, great waves for body surfing, not great if you are looking for an easy casual float or snorkeling.