Waiʻānapanapa State Park

We arrived early with less crowds. Parking wasn't terrible. The beach is a mix of black stones and sand. The path up to the top produces beautiful views for panoramic. the bathrooms were small and a bit dirty but worked. There are showers after to clean off. Worth the price of admission.

A must stop. Have to reserve ahead of time. Beautiful park, clean and amazing beach, blowhole, small hikes. Wish we could have stayed all day. If you hike the first part of your reservation the beach will be clearer at the end.

Pretty black sand beach, but very very crowded! 30+ stairs down to the beach. Waves come in quickly and will pull you out so you have to be careful. Saw many parents pulling their kids back. Also, very rocky/sharp rocks so you need water shoes. There is a small hike up to a blowhole you can do. It all felt overrated. You have to make a reservation in advance (can make the reservation up to 1 month in advance) on their website. It costs about $16-17 per vehicle and you have to select a time slot for when you want to be there.

Loved the black sand beach. Lots you can explore but we only did the beach. The earlier morning is more secluded - it gets busy in the afternoon! Advice: wear swim shoes because it's more rocks that sand on the beach. There are bathrooms and showers there too.

This beach has truly black sand — a great spot to relax for a couple of hours. There’s a short trail to the left; just watch your step, as it’s a bit rocky. There’s a small park, restrooms, and a shower. Locals help with parking. Overall, if you have a free day, it’s a nice place to visit.

It took 2.5 hours to get there from Lahaina but it was worth it. You do have to make reservations, which will get you a 3 hour window to explore the area. There’s no cell service for windy road (at least an hour). Best to download Google offline maps before you go. There was 1 bar of LTE service at the park when we arrived. Loved the black beach. There’s a hiking trail along the coast but you’ll need good shoes. The sand is coarse and there’s lots of rocks. Water shoes may be good to wear.

Black sand beach is beautiful and magical. Save time to do the trails along the cliff sides too though - absolutely breathtaking

We stay there one night to camp. Completely amazed waking up seeing that view, we also saw some whales during the sunset. So pretty, a must in Hana. If this is your final destination in the Road to Hana I would recommend you to continue driving 8 more milles, you will find a waterfall, different pretty beaches and the Haleakala national park.

You need a reservation to come to this park. They give you a 2.5 hour window per reservation. I believe this is so because parking is packed. We had to go around twice just to find a parking. It also says you have to arrive within 30 minutes of your reservation start time. It is so beautiful here. Looks like a beautiful park at the end of the beach. There's picnic tables, trees, bathrooms, and showers. You then walk down to the actual beach through some stairs and in pure amazement, you'll walk upon black sand.

Great state park with hiking, caves, and of course the black sand beach. You park on the far end of the park and walk about 4 mins to the bathrooms and stairs to get to the beach. Really small bathrooms... for such a packed park you'd think they would have more... 2 small stalls and one got backed up so it got down to 1 during peak crowds. The beach itself was really cool! Worth the long drive and we did some hiking then had lunch at the picnic tables and time was up. 2.5 hours is really not a lot of time but that's what you get! Make sure you make reservation ahead of time and get there within the first 30 mins of your time slot!

Must see black sand beach. It is in Hana, which is a trek since it's on the East side of the Island and you need to go on the Road to Hana to get there, but worth the journey to see and experience this. Reservation is required, which costs $5 per person if you're an out of stater and it's $10 per vehicle. It is strictly enforced at the entrance of the park (after you drive down a very terrible non maintained road). The water is beautiful and not too cold and the waves are a bit more aggressive. There's a cool cave you can go into for a photoshoot, although it is dark.

Simply gorgeous park, and highly recommend planning ahead for advance reservations. Their are many signs along the road to Hana to remind you of this. We had a 12:30-3pm reservation which I felt like was plenty of time to enjoy the area (some hiking, sea arch, etc.) and in particular the black sand beach -- so cool. The water in this area was the most perfect shade of blue!

An absolute must-stop while doing the Road to Hana. We had done a Black Sand Beach while on the Big Island, but that one doesn't even compare to the magnificence of this one at Wai'anapanapa State Park. It is absolutely beautiful, the water is so blue and clear, and the weather while we were here was cold and cloudy but still didn't detract from the experience. It's such a peaceful stop. They have a little cave you can explore nearby as well as a trail leading to a blow-hole. If you've never seen a blow-hole, it's such an incredible natural phenomenon that you must see. The hike to the blow-hole is gorgeous and allows you to look out over the ocean, the black sand beach, and the surrounding nature. Both are definitely worth the visit. Definitely bring sandals to walk on the beach and the little rocks can be rough on your feet. There's so much more to Wai'anapanapa State Park, and I wish we had more time to explore everything it has to offer. You have to make reservations in advance - and if you're coming during a high-volume season, definitely make this reservation as soon as possible (I believe they can be made 30 days in advance). We were here during a low-volume and were lucky enough to get reservations the day before. You have to pick a timeslot to show up at, so it's important to plan your Road to Hana trip to coincide with your reserved time because they will not let you in early nor will they let you in late. It's $10 per car in addition to $5/person. They will not let you in without a reservation. This is a wonderful stop that should be included on everyone's Road to Hana trip.

We love this park and the cabins. You need to make reservations for the cabins 3 months in advance we found it kinda tricky but be persistent and you'll get in. Your reservation gets u in the park also. If visiting for day you need a reservation for a 2 hour window and they are pretty strict about the time. The cabins are clean have a 2 burner hot plate/microwave/full sized fridge indoir plumber/shower and 3 sets of bunkers. You need to bring everything else bedding/towels dishes,pots and pans ect. Can get chilly at night so bring long pants and a jacket. There is an outside grill that we love to use. It is pretty easy to walk from the cabins to the cliff trail but the blowhole black sand beach area closes at 530. The drive in from the hwy has lots of potholes so drive slowly.

On the Road to Hana and Mile Maker 32 you need to have reservations in order to enter the park. Reservations are available in 2.5 hour time slots throughout the day. It is $5 per person plus a $10 entry fee if you are driving a vehicle. Reservations are available 30 days in advance of your desired visit day and must be made at least one day in advance. They do sell out so I would book as soon as you can. At the park they had a lava tube and a blow hole in addition to the iconic black sand beach. There were porta potties and rinse off stations available. Beach is a bit tight, tighter when the tide is in. There as a lot of smooth rocks which were painful on the feet, especially when trying to get in/out of the water, if you have water shoes, here is a good place to wear them. The water was a bit rough so be careful to those who are not good swimmers. You can hike up to the blow hole which overlooks the beach. When the waves come in, it travels up the lava rock and sprays viewers, that was fun. We had a great time here and spent the whole allotted time here. If you can't get a reservation or forgot to and happen to be traveling to The Big Island there are additional black sand beaches there.

Just a beautiful gem to find this place. Truly breathtaking and very well taken care of.

There were many people on the black sand beach actually, we only spent a few minutes there. We discovered the hiking to the rocks, the view was beautiful, and the ocean was so blue. Watching the big waves coming in splashing through the rocks was amazing and definitely worth the hike.

This idiots want me to book 2 days ahead?? Is this a business meeting? This is a vacation destination and the attitude of this people it's the worst. I hope a robot replace them soon

Beautiful views throughout! The beach can get busy but it was amazing to see black sand and lava rocks. They have a lava rock tube that you can enter and it's wonderful to experience.

Reservation required! First of all, can you pronounce the name of the park?? Yes, but I mean correctly LoL! All visitors must have a reservation voucher in order to enter this extremely popular Waiānapana State Park (home of the Black Sand Beach). We booked our time slot from 10:00a to 12:00p but the staff at the entrance said we could stay an extra 30-mins until 12:30p. The entrance can be easily missed. Slow down when you reach Mile Marker #32 along the famous Road to Hana. There is a $10 per vehicle parking fee (includes all passengers). Log in to their website to place your reservation. Reservations may be made up to 30 days in advance, and no later than the day before your visit so plan ahead because you don't want to miss the stunning coastal views. We enjoyed our visit in this beautiful park. We brought lunch and ate at one of the picnic tables. We went to see the famous black sand beach of Pailoa Bay and explored inside a small lava tube (5-10 second walk to get to the other end). Many visitors were enjoying themselves at the beach despite warning signs of strong currents and dangerous shore breaks. There is no lifeguard on duty. We skipped the Blowhole trail but did explore other hiking trails within the park. The park is popular for their rugged lava shoreline with beautiful sea arches. If you made it to Hana don't skip Waiānapanapa...one more time, say it out loud :) Review #2707

Mother Nature is Magnificent! One of the most surreal beach I have ever been. Growing up on islands, I was skeptical at first about black sand. Living at eastern part of Taiwan, the coast was mostly black as I remembered, but it was not volcanic and these look like black gold when looking at it close up! This park is located at east part of the island, so there's not much of sunset to catch but maybe reflection of cloud around that time. Permit to enter the park is required both by car and head counts! We are lucky to make to the gate about 15 minutes before park closes. The staff were wrapping up all visitors around that time and we just arrived! It was quite a hustle to take as many photos as we can before getting kicked out! I believe we got the best out of the 15 minutes! We saw a resting Hawaiian Monk Seal, literally black on black! Also, the cave with minimal light with sound of wave, so loud and so isolated to the world. It was a once in a lifetime moment for me. For those visiting Hana, this should be the number one place on the list!

The reservations for this open up one month in advance. We made a reservation about 2 weeks out for the 10am-12:30pm time slot. This means you may enter after 10am and have to be out by 12:30pm. That said, no one is monitoring when you leave. We were running late and they let us in at 12:30pm, saying we had to be quick. Now I see why the 12:30-3pm slot if the most popular, and was sold out when I looked. The black sand beach is amazing! The sand is not very fine, some would call them rocks, but the backdrop of the cove and the waves made the water color stand out. It is not very big and thus probably why they limit the visitors with reservations and the small nominal fee. We stayed for about an hour and played around, hiking the short distance to the top of the rock, which had a nice view and big splashes from the waves hitting it. The shower and bathroom facilities were fine and I would say this is a must visit on the road to Hana.

(Late post) I've always wanted to go to a black sand beach and it did not disappoint! Yes reservations are required through the website. It was $5 a person & $10 for parking. It was my first time in Maui so I didn't know what to expect but OMG.. it's a long and dangerous drive to get here taking the road to Hana. Definitely the earlier the better! Our reservation was from 7am-10am and our fault we left late so we only had less than an hour to stay. The beach was beautiful!! The ocean just makes me so happy, calm and at peace. :) It wasn't super packed since reservations were required. There was even this really cool cave you could walk into. I definitely recommend visiting and planning ahead of time!

It's an absolute must-stop on the road to Hana!! It is definitely worth the reservation!! Breathaking beauty!! There is a bathroom (only 2 stalls) with open changing area before going Down to the beach. This area is not handicap friendly (quit a bit of stairs going down to the beach). Bring some chairs to sit in since the sand is more like black pebbles. The water is clear and refreshing!! Don't miss going into the cove to the right during low tide to watch the waves crash.

I guess we got lucky that we were even able to get a reservation to the park when we did for the 7-10AM time slot. It was the only one left a few days out so we had to take it. Cost us about $20 for the reservation. We didn't leave our hotel early enough and the drive to the park itself was 2.5 hours so we didn't make it until about 9ish. The parking lot was pretty full by this time but we still were able to find a spot. The beach was kind of small but really beautiful. I've never seen black sand up close so it was really cool to actually be there. There was also a path that we took that took us on a small cliff that gave us even better view of the ocean and the beach. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend too much time there and were in a rush. For what we did get to see, it was absolutely worth it.

B-E-A-U-T-IFUL!!!!! This was part of our Road to Hana tour and it is a must! You will walk around the top part and enjoy the views or you can walk down to the beach. The beach will most likely be packed as there are a lot of tours driving through. As soon as you get onto the beach to the right there is a cave that you can duck into and walk to the water. Watch out where you put your things as the water does come up quite a bit and of course everyone is walking through the beach. If you go across the beach you can go on a path to see some great views of the beach and ocean from the rocks. This is a moderate hike but do not recommend for those who struggle with climbing some rocks as it zigs and zags a bit. But if you can do it, the view is worth it. Unfortunately if you are taking a tour you will have to decide what to do in your limited amount of time there so you might not be able to do it all, particularly if you want to ensure the beach and go swimming at all.

Beautiful beautiful place. The black sand beach was nothing like I'd seen before. The only tip is to make reservations for entry to this place, we'll in advance. The slots fill really fast and you might not get a slot you wanted. This is a must visit when on Road to Hana.

Back when no reservation was literally a thing of the past, we were able to include Waiānapanapa State Park in our "Road to Hana" schedule. With the advent of COVID-19, the state of Hawai'i has imposed that all non-HI visitors must purchase both entrance and parking reservations. As a result, we missed this destination the second time around. The main attraction in this state park is the black sand beach. If you've been driving forever to get here, the restrooms will probably supersede the beach. The view of the cove was already fantastic from the top. Although pebbly than sandy, the beach itself was still beautiful. We've been to the Punalu'u Black Sand Beach (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/qnIa7nIAtI3mIuRfZ_atrQ?select=8VNgu3eWc4K9GI5MErOTgQ&utm_source=oshare&utm_content=photo) in the Big Island the year before, but we still enjoyed this spot. Facing the water, there's a lava tube on the right side. There are plenty of tide pools as well. Blowholes, caves, and wildlife abound. We explored a bit then decided to continue our trek to Hana. But that was back when the park was free for everyone. Since the new reservation system allows a timeframe to stay, it makes more sense to get the most out of it...

This is a really beautiful place. There are benches looking down on the beach and then there is a walk down to the beach- just make sure you can walk back up again. It's pretty steep. The parking lot gets very busy with tour buses- and tours are probably the reason reservations are now required. It is still a lovely place despite being busy. There are bathrooms. Bring your own TP just in case!

This was probably my favorite stop in he road to Hana, NOT to be missed! First off, buy and reserve your tickets now. They sell out, I'm guessing due to their limited parking, and the last thing you want is t be driving on your way to Hana without reservations here. It's a flat rate of $20 per car, no matter how many people are in your car. We somehow got lucky and purchased our tickets on the way over for the 0700-1000 time slot. I don't know how we got so lucky, because I thought they don't accept same day reservations, but they somehow did. We arrived around 0950, and what the ticket and personnel say are that your tickets are for your time slot only - that you must leave when your time slot is up. However, no one kicked us out. We stayed for about 1 hour, which was good enough time to see the viewpoint, the black sand beach, and do the short 1.5 mile hike through the lava formation. The Gypsy guide app we used described this park as a greatest hits of Maui. I would 100% agree with this! There were many black sand beaches on the road to Hana, but this one seemed the best maintained, and most beautiful. There was no trash of course, and the black sand seemed so vibrant in color. The sand was damp, and relaxing to walk in with my sneakers. The rocks leading up to the sand felt therapeutic to walk in! The lava formation was amazing to see too. It just looked so untouched, sharp, like it was formed not too long ago (even though I know that's not the case). It was also fun to see the ocean water crash on to the lava formation, billow into the air, and land on visitors who were standing too close to get a picture! I also loved that the lava had this green vegetation growing on it. It was this beautiful vibrant green, also looked untouched! My only pet peeve was that for paying $20, I'd expect the bathrooms to be better maintained. According to my husband, these were the worst maintained bathrooms throughout our entire Maui Trip, which is quite sad, since this is a state park with actual paying customers. Overall, our Maui trip was quite jam packed with snorkeling, and also trying to fit in stops with the road to Hana. However, this state park made me feel relaxed and rejuvenated. I would highly recommend this to all visitors, especially if you only have time for one major stop on the road to Hana.

Just beautiful and was fun with my 6 year old. Water was amazing and we got to see so much scenery.

Reservations required to visit this state park. We had to turn around and go back. What a bummer. I have never heard of a reservation being required to visit a state park. After a slow 2.5 hour drive along Hana highway, one way. We were turned away. Note to others. Make a reservation before driving all of the way here. Many others were turned away.

I had the privilege to visit Wai'anapanapa on two occasions, both times it was spectacular. The black sand beach is gorgeous, the sand is like small pebbles The park also has hiking trails, picnic areas, camping, shower and restrooms, and plenty of parking as well. I've been told that now you have to book a permit in advance to access the black sand beach. Great park, one of my favorites. Can't wait to return!

A great stop on a Hana Adventure. A reservation is required. See the link below. https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/maui/waianapanapa-state-park/ The beach is accessed through a flight of stairs, which can be difficult for the elderly and the young. There were facilities such a restroom and rinse station. Picnic tables nearest the parking lot. The actual beach itself was indeed black. Rocky sections. The surf was suited for a swim. Families in the water. There were also little caves for littles to explore. This was a great stop to stretch legs and a to take a dip after a long car ride. Be sure to have reservations. Enjoy! I knocked off a star due to the singular rinse station with only two medicore shower heads.

*COVID Update* We had to make reservations up to one week before the date we wanted to visit. The instructions online were pretty clear. You choose the date, then choose time slot(s) between 9 AM - 6 PM, then select how many people per car. The primary and secondary names will show up on your QR code. I recommend printing out the QR code because there is no service up there. I had no trouble getting the time slots I wanted (it wasn't as difficult as getting Haleakala sunrise). In actuality, I came in way later than my reserved time slot. They did not check IDs nor did they check the number of people in the cars. I had two cars with total 8 people, and my tickets said 6 people in the first car and 3 people in the second. They scanned both QR codes in my first car and let the second one pass through. To get here, you turn where the sign says "Wai'anapanapa State Park Campground". There are private properties around this road, so it doesn't seem like a state park. I wish I spent more than 3 hours here. The lava tube is immediately to your right when you get down the stairs to the beach. The black sand is nice because it's not really sand, more like tiny pebbles. It's tough to walk on with bare feet. You will towel off easily and don't really need showers to rinse. I followed the trail north from the beach, and it led to volcanic rock. If you go to the right at the first fork, there's a small vantage point for photo ops. I recommend wearing hiking shoes for this section; you will walk on rocks for a majority of the time. I was disappointed that I didn't get to the end of the trail to see the freshwater caves. They were very strict about closing by 6 PM. We tried heading to the bathroom around 5:50 PM, but they directed us out. Plan on your trip getting cut by 30 minutes if you booked the last time slot. Since we paid to come to this state park, I would have liked some info brochures about the history, geology, and trails. I'm not sure if they allow re-entry, like if you had to go get food.

Beautiful black sand beach which was a tad bit difficult for my wife and I to find. Remember to get reservations online in a timely manner to secure a spot to see this beautiful wonder. We unfortunately went on a rainy day but that didn't stop us from enjoying the black sand and sea caves. The pure black sand was a sight to see and provided such a picturesque scenery amongst the greenery. Love this beach and hopefully can someday come back and enjoy it more when it is not raining.

Black sand beach was amazing. We made a reservation fairly last minute, so the only available slot was 7AM-10AM, so we decided to hit this first, and then drive the Road to Hana in reverse. This turned out to be a great decision for a few reasons: -the Black Sand beach was really empty when we arrived, which made it easier to take awesome pictures (also benefited from the early morning light here). -driving an empty Road to Hana in the early is much more fun without being stuck behind slow vehicles In addition to the beach itself, there is a small lava tube right by it, which was quite cool. We also did the hike from the black sand beach. Highly recommend this as it has spectacular views of the lava formations.

This park is beautiful and I'm glad they're limiting capacity by requiring reservations. Reservations are in three hour intervals and I was told you must exit when your time is up. Employees scanned my QR code from my phone and I was admitted entry. I took a screenshot of the code in advance due to the limited cell reception in the area. I was easily able to find parking near the beach even though I entered with just about an hour left in my time slot. I primarily visited the Black Sand Beach and brought lunch there to enjoy. The water was so blue and pretty crashing against the black sand. There is a little sea cave to the right immediately after coming down the stairs that's worth a visit. Be sure to watch your head going in. There are restrooms and rinse off areas but the restrooms weren't clean. Definitely worth a visit while in Hana but plan accordingly and reserve the proper time slot for your party online.

The people who work here are a bunch of clowns, making up their own rules as "supervisors" of the park. Extremely unprofessional, rude, untruthful and lie on their website. Don't say admittance is 3-6 pm for reservations and start closing your gates at 5:31pm to enter Black Sand Beach. We drove hours to get here after hiking Pipiwai trail (furthest hike on the island) and were among many PISSED that the staff had blocked the gates per "supervisor guidance" after reserving our ticket WEEKS in advanced. If you are going to close the gates before the set time our time is allotted for, just say that. Otherwise we would've rushed to get there by that time. Don't be dishonest. Btw - you should fire every single person in these photos, the guy was vaping on job (which you can clearly see in his hand) LMAO bye what a joke!

Something you gotta see once in your life! It was pretty crowded for most of the time so I wouldn't stay all day but to go for couple of hours is perfect. The little cave area was cool!

We arrived a couple minutes late when absolutely no one was in the parking lot, we hoped for some leniency and didn't get any, we said okay and offered to pay again for a spot and the gate attendant acted like a filthy animal who didn't deserve my time. If she's reading this I hope your car gets dented bitch. I'd take 5 rounds of .45 acp if it meant something in your life was ruined. You're a cow.

Must visit. Even if you don't do the road to Hana. Make sure you make reservations as they won't let you in without it. It is for a 3 hour slot as parking is somewhat limited. Beautiful view. We came in a later part of our reservation so only had an hour and didn't do the hike to see the blow hole or the arch. You can hike up part on the hill and still get a beautiful view of the bay. Also there is no cell signal here so I recommend you take a snap shot of your voucher because you won't be able to access your email for the voucher.

If you're doing the Road to Hana this is worth stopping. I mean, it's THE BLACK SAND BEACH after all. Fun little lava cave there too and working, clean bathrooms a true amenity on the RTH. Be sure to make a reservation and arrive on time.

The amount of people, reservations etc doesn't make this spot that worth it. The water was rough when we arrived, very hot on the beach due to the black sand and crowded. It's great to go once but I don't know that I will go through the Hassel to go again. There are better stops in Hana. It was beautiful scenery though!

This is a great Hawaii State Park in Maui near Hana Town that consists of a blowhole, lava tube, black sand beach, sea arch, and more all in one! No wonder this is such a popular stop along the Road to Hana. As of September 2022, Wai'anapanapa State Park is one of the three state parks that has a reservation system for out-of-state visitors. For Hawaii residents with valid ID, you can still visit anytime at no charge.

Make a reservation well in advance! When I was here in 2019 with friends, the black sand beach here was my favorite part of our trip. For this return trip, I couldn't wait to show my elderly mother the stunning scenery here, but was forced to turn back at the entrance (after hours of driving from Kihei) because I did not know I needed a reservation. I am incredibly disappointed that my mother missed out because I didn't do my research, so please don't make my same mistake, so that you can enjoy the natural beauty in abundance at this state park.

I was not impressed with the beach itself, but the trail was fun with great views. Facing the beach, the trail will be in your left. Hike was easy for the portion that we covered. Worth the entry fee!

This was my second favorite stop along the Road to Hana. Even though we left early, it was fairly crowded by the time we made it down here. It started raining right when we got here which actually cleared some people out. The rain let up not too long later. There's a nice sea arch you can see from up by the parking lot. Take the stairs down to the gorgeous black sand beach. There's a freshwater sea cave just to the right of the stairs. Don't miss this. You can see the waves coming in on the far side. Very cool. Definitely make sure to take the path up the cliffs on the far side of the beach. We walked out along the cliffs and enjoyed watching the waves crash in. You can walk quite a ways down here. I wish we had stayed in Hana so we could have spent more time here. We still had more stops and a two hour drive back, so we could only spend about 45 minutes here. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to explore this beautiful place!

We were hiking to the waterfall and we couldn't get anywhere near it at the end of the hike. There's a sign saying fine would be imposed. If we got any closer. It was a complete waste of time. Then we went to the pool and again everything was closed off we couldn't get near the water the entire point of going was so we could swim in the water at the pools honestly I think I'm done with national parks if they're going to close everything off then there's no point in going. I'm not gonna go somewhere to look at a waterfall 200 feet away from me if I can't touch it and actually get in the water. It's a complete waste of time. Same with the pools honestly, Google images gave me a better look at the pools and the falls then the hike and walk did I'm extremely disappointed to anyone thinking they want to visit I suggest going on a hike somewhere else where you can actually get in the water somewhere national parks haven't ruined with this ridiculous bureaucracy of unnecessary rules

You have to stop and visit this park if you made it through the famous "ROAD TO HANA" the place of the emerald blue water and black sand beach. Beautiful but dangerous. I will refer to this park as black sand beach" lol have a hard time spelling the whole name .... Like most Hawaiian names and words, too many vowels. Prior to coming here at .... wai'anapanapa state park, you have to research and reserve on the day you want to visits. They have time slots and I believe every 2 hours. There's tour vans that will take you (you can book all together ) or if you can drive your rental on the road to Hana. Btw don't believe the hype that you need a 4 wheel drive and yea there's about 51 one lane bridge and over 600 hairpin turns... but my oh my you'll see the beauty behind the danger ( water falls , cliff seashore sites. View of a valley) and wai'anapanapa state park is no different. We reserve a spot between 10pm to 12 and have a 1/2 hour extension from the young staff that was directing tourist to their parking spots. We bought with us some food so we had a mini picnic under the shaded are. We were joined by two local cats waiting for hand outs or food dropping from your table lol. I just gave them my rice. The price on line is 10$ each person , you order on line, once paid, they will email QR code. The info of how many in your party will be in their system. The place is beautiful, there's a lava tube/cave that brings you at a crashing wave at the mouth of the cave. I think that whole tube will be treacherous during high tide and windy conditions. It's pretty cramp inside. The beach is spectacular but the waves are rough. There's no life guard on duty and word of advise... heed the warning signs. There's also a blow hole but have to hike on some jagged rocks up hill. Too dangerous for me. There's other area where you can relax and enjoy the beauty of the park.

Unpopular opinion: road to Hana is overrated. However the redeeming part was visiting Wai'anapanapa. You have to plan your trip and buy tickets ahead of time. You will pay an entrance fee per person and a car fee. We could only find 7 am to 10 am slots so we had to drive straight to here and then did all the stops in reverse order. We had a little over an hour to explore and we just stayed at the black sand beach which is their most popular attraction. I think going to the sea caves is also recommended. All in all a beautiful place.

If you're driving the Road to Hana, this is a MUST STOP! There are things in this park that make the detour and entry fee absolutely worth it. We almost skipped coming to save on time, but drove the R2H a second time just to come back to see it. We were so happy we did! It was our favorite part of the trip. Be prepared to spend more than an hour here minimum to really enjoy all there is to see. They close by 6pm so make sure you keep that in mind, as well. **You will need a reservation to visit the park due to COVID restrictions. It costs $1 on the reservations.gov site, and you will need to present your reservation upon arrival. They are available on a first come, first serve basis and can be bought a few days in advance. The black sand beach needs no introduction - it's famous on Maui for its beauty, and pictures do not do it justice. The waves are bright turquoise against black sand and rocks. You don't want to miss this! It is a small beach, so it may be packed during your visit. It's not so much a 'relaxing' beach as it is a place for folks to stop by, take photos, and continue on their drive to Hana. There are look out points to watch the ocean roll back and forth, and cliffs that overlook as well. When you walk down the staircase to the beach, look to your right and there is a small hole in the rocks. When you walk inside, you'll enter a large lava tube. The ocean crashes into the cave every so often, so don't turn your back and be cautious of how close you get to the waves while inside the cave. You can get some really amazing photos here if you adjust your lighting right! We were not able to find the Nakalele blowhole. The directions seemed clear, but we roamed the park, followed signs, and just could not find it. It seems the Blowhole and Arch may be separate hikes that you need to plan your time accordingly for. We did find many other places where the waves created large spouts of water, including the spots with railing along the cliffs. These make for great photo ops, just make sure you're quick and keep an eye out for the tide level. There are warning signs for a reason. We stayed over an hour just watching water fly up through rocks along the eastern section of the park. There are also a few caves in the ground that are guarded by fences for your protection. Super cool to look at how the ocean carves through land. There were so many things we wish we had time to see. The black sand beach is just a small part of what Wai'anapanapa has to offer. We will definitely be back in the future to discover the trails and waterfalls.

This was a fun stop on the road to Hana :) You do need a reservation and they will not let you come in early! But once admitted you have a beautiful beach to enjoy and explore. I must admit I loved the lava cave the best and really enjoyed taking photos. Super fun and a must to do.

Reservation system is xenophobic and designed to keep outsiders from enjoying Maui's only black sand beach. Locals are allowed entry into the park without reservation. Non residents are charged $10/person IF you get a reservation. The staff on premises are racist and called us haoles under their breath as they made us turn around bc we didn't have a res. What a disappointment.

A good place to check out the black sand beach if you don't want to do the whole "road to Hana" route...it's a nice secluded beach and very pretty. There were a few surfers when we went. Take note if you're planning to do the drive, this is about an hour from Kahului, you lose phone signal once you're away from the towns, so it's good to download Google maps "offline routes" so it's available to you even without cel signal, although you pretty much just stay on the main highway during the whole drive so it's kinda hard to get lost.

A great place to snorkel! Also a great place to see the whales. We came in February and got to watch the humpbacks

Talk about exceptional. This park is not only well maintained, but the gardens you get to walk through to get to the beach are incredible. The landscaping all around was really well thought out. We stopped here for the famous Black Sand Beach, and looking at the photos I'm attaching to this review -- pictures really don't do the place justice. You just have to go and see it live. I won't get into the nitty gritty about how or why the sand is black, because one could google it for the history. I will say that this tourist attraction is a must see. We stayed in Kihei, so the drive to this beach was about 2 hours and 45 minutes (Road to Hana is rough for first timers). It's not recommended to go deep into the waters as the currents are strong, and there are no lifeguards on duty. Although, the water is bright blue and warm. It was such an amazing experience to witness such an exquisite piece of nature.