Kalapana Hawai'i - Pahoa

Beautiful beach. Ocean is rough, no lifeguards. The hike down 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.

It seemed beautiful as we were half way down the steep cliff, until we started seeing indecent exposure and as we had kids with us, it was inappropriate.... This was a nudist beach and they said that Sundays are the worst

Great place don't go if your not in good physical shape. It's a hike in out. Beautiful clothing optional black sand beach.

Despite some negatives which may persuade some from visiting, in my opinion the positives outweighed them and this was one of the more unique and cool beaches we visited. Pros: -a black sand beach, which are common in this area, but not all over the islands -really cool views from the roadside entrance, the hike down over the lava rock, and then the beach -with this beach being below a cliff edge, the beach backdrop is large palms, vines and other tropical foliage covering which you dont typically have at most other beaches on the islands -ability to swim, snorkel, boogie-board and spearfish all at one beach -a variety of people young and old; even a group that comes to hang out and beat their hand drums, adding to the location 's exotic, The Beach movie vibe Cons: -nude beach, with 10-25% of the people there nude during our visit, so might not be the best beach for kids -limited roadside parking, so depending on how crowded it is, may have to park a bit away from the trail entrance -a steep and rocky hike down to the beach, but short 5min), so may not be the best for toddlers/babies, elderly or those with any kind of issue with that type of terrain -people smoking weed, so the smell is in the air a positive or negative depending on your preference) Even if youre not going to stay for a swim or a drum, and you can make the hike down, the uniqueness of this beach makes it a good stop.

This black sand beach within walking distance to our vacation rental was a delight. Clothing optional made the experience exotic. We were a bit dismayed however that on our first visit nearly all attendees were nude, but on our second most remained clothed. Regardless, we always found the atmosphere entirely non-judgmental. Surf is strong with huge beach breakers, so exercise caution! You can still swim though by timing the swell with a quick entry and exit without getting slammed. Vendors selling fruit and hand-made baskets hats hang out roadside above.