Black Rock (Puʻu Kekaʻa)

Black Rock, or Puʻu Kekaʻa, is a dark basalt headland at the north end of Kāʻanapali’s three-mile sandy beach. It is one of the coast’s defining landmarks, rising between the pale shore and the Pacific. Come to see the point, walk the shoreline, or snorkel in the water along its near side, where visitors often report fish and green sea turtles.

The shoreline water is shallower, but it gets deeper around the tip and currents can run stronger there. Don’t make swimming around the point your goal. Visitors repeatedly describe the return as the hard part. Check the water conditions before getting in, and keep to the beach if the surf or current is up. The famous jumps are part of the scene, but only make one if depth and conditions are clearly safe.

You reach the rock from the north end of Kāʻanapali Beach, walking over sand rather than following a trail. Parking is spread around a busy resort area, so some approaches add a long walk through resort paths and along the beach. Pick your access point before hauling snorkel gear. Restaurants and shops are on the resort strip, not on the rock itself.

Hawaiian tradition connects Puʻu Kekaʻa with a sacred passage to the afterlife and with Chief Kahekili’s lele kawa, a feet-first dive meant to enter the sea without a splash. A modern resort cliff-diving performance has retold that story at sunset; it is a contemporary show, not the ancient rite itself.

The outcrop is basalt, and its dark face stands out against Kāʻanapali’s pale sand. The beach continues around it toward Kahekili Beach Park, so the point is a clear marker at the northern end of the long shore. It is worth looking back down the beach to see how the rock breaks the shoreline into two stretches.

From the beach, leave open water around the headland so its shape reads as a point instead of a dark wall. Late-day light can turn the rock into a silhouette while the water picks up the color of the sky.