What’s It Like to Go on an Off-Roading Adventure at the Rarest Beach in the World (Papakōlea Beach)?
What if I told you that the USA has two of the four rarest beaches on Earth?
And you can hike or ride on the back of a pickup truck to see one of them?
Lastly, what if I told you that Key West isn't the southernmost tip of the USA?
Did I pique your interest? Would you actually ride in the back of a pickup with 8-9 other strangers?
It’s a lot more fun than it sounds!
Papakōlea Beach: Why is it green?
There are four green beaches in the world, and the Big Island has one of them. I know you have heard about white sand beaches and even black sand (yes, the Big Island has black sand, too!), but green?
“How does a beach ‘become’ green?” you may ask. Well, I'm glad you did!
The sand is green because of olivine deposits, which are created when lava with a high magnesium content cools slowly. Their magnesium content turns them green. These glassy olivine crystals get mixed into the sand, causing it to turn green.
How to get to Papakōlea Beach
As I mentioned above, there are only four of these beaches in the world, so you will be going on quite an adventure—one you will not regret!
First, you must drive to Ka Lae, which is the southernmost tip of the United States. Everyone thinks Key West holds that honor, but Ka Lae Point is the southernmost point of all 50 states!
**Note: If you are looking for a great place to stay, this is only 2 hours from Volcano Inn, where I stayed!!**
Second, you can get to the beach in four ways:
1. You can walk the three miles along the stunning coastline line. When I was walking, it was super windy, and the surf was a bit rough, but seeing the bright blues hitting the golden coastline with many lava rocks was a truly stunning sight. Especially since the weather was moody, with skies turning dark at times. I just remember everything popping against the skies, making everything more vibrant. If you haven’t been to Hawaii before ( this was my first time) the landscape is so dramatic; even on a bright sunny day, this island feels like its own world: 50 shades of blue waters mixing with the black and greens of the land. Truly a mind-blowing experience. The last time I was stunned by a place’s various colors was when I was in Utah.
2. You can pay 20 dollars (cash or Venmo) to ride in the back of the local trucks. When I say local trucks, I mean the locals’ personal trucks. To be honest, I planned to do this when I arrived. I wanted that experience of off-roading on the back of a truck. Such a conversational starter:
“ Hey, that one time in Hawaii, I road on the back of a truck to the rarest beach in the world.”
It's crazy to speak those words, but I love having experiences. I even texted my boss and my good friend that I was about to do this, and they laughed and told me to have fun.
However, getting enough people to ride in the car took a while. Usually, they want at least 8–10 people to go down. They had another option, a smaller John Deer truck, but we still didn't have enough people, so I decided to hike. I just didn’t want to wait much longer. I was too excited, and the weather was getting very moody—which honestly added to the adventure!
3. You catch a ride in the middle of your hike! The same guy who I tried to get a ride from earlier stopped to pick up these two women, and he saw me and told me to get in!
Hell, yeah! I am getting my experience after all!
It was so much fun to go off-roading with random people. The really nice thing about doing this is that if you aren't as mobile, you can ride in the front of the truck. The road is quite bumpy, so get ready for a fun ride! Once you get to the beach, you have about 45 minutes to play and explore, but if you want to stay longer, you could catch another ride back or you could even hike back!
This is my highest recommendation for getting to the beach because hiking along the coastline and feeling the wind on your face is the best of both worlds. You could even stand on the back of a truck and feel the wind even more. I never stood in the back of a vehicle while it was moving, but I felt so safe and so thrilled to have this experience!
4. Lastly, if you have your own car, you can drive yourself down and spend the whole day there!
Once you get to the beach, you must climb some stairs down to it because the beach is in a bowl. The steps do look a little shaky, but honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. It looks worse than what it is. You climb down these rock formations until you get to the beach. The beach itself is like a small cove; it’s not a super big beach, but even with people there, you still feel like you have the beach to yourself!
Can you swim here?
Yes, you can. However, I would be cautious because the surf can get really rough. I only played to my ankles in the water. But this is the perfect place to have a picnic (which I have seen many do) and enjoy the wonders of this place!
Recap!
If you have time, I really hope you check out Papakōlea Beach. This adventure, climbing on the back of a random-ass truck with strangers and heading to the rarest beach in the world, was one of my top four favorite moments in Hawaii. Even if you don’t want to ride, hiking to this green gem of a beach is worth it!
It is a two-hour drive from Hilo (which I drove after) and about 1.5 hours or so from Kona, but the adventure can be done in a day if you go early, especially if you choose to ride down to the beach.
On your way out of the parking lot, take the 8-minute drive to Ka Lae and check out the dramatic cliffs up close. Many people are fishing around here since it is known for red snappers and other fish. But be warned, it can be—and it was—extremely windy! But it's totally worth it, especially since this is a National Historic Landmark District.
This was a magical place despite the wind and the moody weather—which added more to this rare adventure. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Let me know what you think in the comments!
