Big Island, HI

How many of you have seen a beach with green sand before? Would you like to? You can if you go to the southern part of the Big Island of Hawaii and you don’t mind a bit of a hike. Believe me, it’s worth your time, effort, and sweat!

Earlier this month, during a wonderful road trip on the Big Island, my friend Dee and I decided that we would NOT rest until we’d discovered this magic beach with the green sand! Armed with our trusty guidebook, we set out. We reached our next destination, South Point, but we were far from there! South Point is supposed to be the southernmost point of the Hawaiian islands, as well as of the United States (interesting little bit of trivia!). From the main road, Highway 11 (you can take it from either east or west), we took a turn onto a treacherous road that would lead us all the way down to South Point.
The road was unpaved and rocky and we drove as far as we could before reaching a makeshift parking lot and thanking the heavens that the car tires had made it! But now the REAL work was about to begin; if we really wanted to see the special beach, we had to hike to find it.

According to our guidebook, we’d have to walk 2.5 miles each way to reach it. At this point, we put on our sneakers, took a deep breath, and went for it! The walk was even more treacherous than our drive; we had to constantly look down to make sure we didn’t trip or stumble. There were hills, crevices, rocks, sandy spots, grassy spots, holes…you name it! It was a twisted ankle incident waiting to happen! But we felt ALIVE as we pressed on, determined: the wind was blowing, we were sweating, and there were amazing views all the way.

We FINALLY reached the end and after one final little hill, we spotted the beach below!!! It really existed! We made it! But then, we had to figure out how to get down to it…The climb down was insane, but we did it and were rewarded with an amazing beach and awesome water. We hung out and enjoyed it and dreaded the hike back — 2.5 miles back to the parking lot! We actually jogged a bit of it, so that made the time go faster! We were very tired when we got to the car, and our sneakers were covered in dust. My ankles were killing me, and they ached for days! But I was really proud that I’d done the 5 miles!! And that beach was SO worth it — how often do you see green sand?