Waiʻānapanapa Coast Trail North

Waiʻānapanapa Coast Trail North is a rough 1.9-mile out-and-back along the lava shore north of Pā'iloa Bay. Start across the black-sand beach, follow the broken coastal tread to the airport-side fence, then retrace your steps. Give it about an hour and a half with time for the coves; the lava makes a short walk slower than a dirt path. Go for open ocean, dark volcanic rock and the chance to look around an older Hawaiian coastal route. If you're after an easy beach stroll, stay on the paved park paths instead.

Use the day-use parking inside Waiʻānapanapa State Park. Walk to the stairs above Pā'iloa Bay and cross the black-sand beach; the northbound trail begins on the far side. The southbound Piʻilani route is a different coastal walk, so check your direction before leaving the bay. State park entry and parking require a reservation; arrange that before making the drive.

There is little built trail here. The tread picks its way through gaps in the low growth and over sharp, uneven lava, with short stretches where the route is less obvious. Much of it is open to sun and sea air, with occasional tree cover. Look back toward the black beach and green mountain backdrop, then out across the open ocean. Keep your eyes on your footing: jagged rock is a bigger effort than the modest distance suggests.

The path reaches black-rock coves and resumes on the far side of one; don't make a shortcut across unknown ledges if you lose the tread. A large lava-tube opening is another feature along this shore. A blowhole can throw spray above the rocks when waves are active. Watch from stable ground set back from the opening and the water's edge, not from the lip. The sea is the reason to come out here, but it is also the reason to give the shoreline room.

Local accounts identify this north section with Kipapa O Kihapiʻilani, part of the old King's Trail. The route passes stone remains and burial places, including a fork toward a burial site. Descriptions do not agree on which name belongs to every sacred structure, so treat all stone-walled areas as cultural sites: stay on the public tread, do not enter or climb on them, and leave stones where they are. Pukaulua Point is a common turnaround near a heiau and burial mounds.

The mapped northbound line continues from the usual Pukaulua turn toward the Hana Airport boundary and stops at the fence; do not cross it. This record stores that beach-to-fence corridor once and counts the return, for 1.9 miles total. Published descriptions put the walk between about 1.7 and 2.75 miles, so their turnarounds are not fully consistent. Turning around at Pukaulua makes for a shorter outing; retrace your own route rather than adding the burial-site fork to the through-walk.

There is no confirmed drinking-water point along the north trail; carry what you need from the park. Restrooms and showers are at the park access, not along the coast, and there is no food on this route. Entry is reservation-based, so settle the park booking before you drive the Hana Highway. The north path is a separate walk from the park's southbound route, not a signed loop back to the lot.