Stop 10 · MM 32 · Rt 360
The black sand beach. Book it or miss it.
Waiʻanapanapa is the one stop you cannot wing — and the one most worth doing right.
- Marker
- MM 32 · Rt 360
- Entry
- RESERVATION REQUIRED (non-res)
- Fees
- $5/person + $10/vehicle
- Window
- 3-hr slots · book 30 days out
- Release
- Midnight HST, daily
Listen to this guide
Book first. Everything else second.
Non-residents must reserve and prepay online before arriving — no walk-ups, no same-day slots, and yes, rangers check. Windows open 30 days ahead and release daily at midnight HST, and the mid-morning slots vanish first, because everyone’s itinerary (including ours) points them there after banana bread.
So set the alarm once: the night 30 days before your drive, book the window that fits your plan. Hawaiʻi residents with ID are exempt. Everyone else — this paragraph is the difference between black sand and a photo of a closed gate.
What you actually get
Paʻiloa Beach: jet-black sand made of lava the ocean has been grinding for centuries. Sea caves you can walk into. Blowholes that fire on the right swell. A coastal trail along cliffs that make every camera look talented, and freshwater caves whose legend — of a princess and her fate — deserves your quiet attention.
Your three hours go faster than you think. Beach first, caves second, trail with whatever remains — that order survives contact with reality.
The fine print worth knowing
Refunds are allowed up to 3 days before your entry date if plans shift. Camper-van camping is suspended through March 2027 while the park rebuilds its comfort station — tent campers and day-trippers, carry on. And swim with judgment: the shore break here is genuinely punchy, and the black sand hides how fast the bottom drops.
Keep planning
- All 16 stops in order →
- The timed 1-day plan →
- Hana Lava Tube →
- Red Sand Beach (Kaihalulu) →
- Guide: Reservations & Permits →
- Guide: Beaches →
Written and shot on the route by Shane Perry, Maui resident.
Straight answers
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The Full Audio Tour
Cell service quits past Keʻanae. This doesn’t. Every narrated stop in one nine-minute file — download it at home, play it on the route.
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