ALOHA!
Honokalani Beach is located at Pailoa Bay in Waianapanapa State Park.
This is the black sand beach you need to see when you go to Maui!
You can see Honokalani Beach from the Pailoa Bay overlook, and you can also go down the stairs to walk across it and hold the black sand in your hands!
Honokalani Beach is one of the best things to do in Waianapanapa State Park.
This beach is also where you can go to start a hike across one of the Maui lava fields!
So Pailoa Bay is home to THE famous black sand beach in Maui.
This is located in Waianapanapa State Park.
The black sand beach is one of the top things that makes it one of the best state parks in Maui!
Once you get to the state park, you won’t have to look very hard for a paved trail along the coastline. It’s a trail with ocean views!
This is also the trail that will take you to the Pailoa Bay overlook aka the black sand beach overlook!
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There is the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail (aka Piilani Trail) that is THE hike to do in Waianapanapa State Park. This goes for a couple of miles along the coast in both directions of Pailoa Bay, to the north and to the south.
The trail to Pailoa Bay is basically the “middle” part of the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail.
Walking along this middle part of the trail will give you views of Pailoa Bay and the vast ocean that it opens up to!
How much time do you need for the Pailoa Bay overlook?
If the ONLY thing you want to do is SEE the Waianapanapa black sand beach from above, then you can give yourself 15-20 minutes to only walk along the trail that overlooks Pailoa Bay.
This paved trail that overlooks Pailoa Bay is not that long. So this will be enough time to walk around at a leisurely pace and take in the ocean views of Pailoa Bay and the Pacific Ocean!
How much longer you want beyond seeing Pailoa Bay from above will depend on how much time you want to spend at the black sand beach, and how much time you want to spend hiking the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail. You can make it a 30 minute Waianapanapa hike from Pailoa Bay, or you can make it a 2+ hour Waianapanapa hike from Pailoa Bay!
More pictures below of what you can see from walking the trail to the Pailoa Bay overlook, and then some!
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So…!
Here’s more of what a quick trip to the Pailoa Bay overlook can look like!
First a bit off to the right as you’re facing the ocean… (aka away from the black sand beach…)
And then saving the best for last, you can head for the “main event” of Waianapanapa State Park, THE black sand beach, and THE main overlook of Waianapanapa State Park! Or, if you want to go straight to the black sand beach, then that will be off towards the LEFT as you are facing the ocean.
And that’s a bit of what you can see at Pailoa Bay from above!
And then if you want to make time for it…
You can take the stairs that you’ll see from the overlook down to Pailoa Bay so you can see the black sand beach up close and personal!
There’s also a small little cave formation off to the right side of the beach too!
And then if you want to make time for even more…
You can further walk across the black sand sand beach and continue on the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail! (Yes, I do think it’s worth going at least a little bit! I consider this hiking trail one of the best hikes on Maui!)
More about hiking the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail from the Pailoa Bay overlook:
And those are ideas for your trip to Pailoa Bay!
Nearby food stops in Hana:
More more stops for your Road to Hana drive:
- More Hana beaches
- The Hana lava tube cave
- Things to do in Hana
- The big list of things to do along the Hana Highway
HAPPY SEEING THE BLACK SAND BEACH FROM THE PAILOA BAY OVERLOOK!
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