Pohoiki Black Sand Beach (Isaac Hale Beach Park)

What to expect

Highway 137 now ends at Pohoiki, so the drive in and out runs through the 2018 lava landscape. The beach is a dark stretch of new sand with lava boulders along the waterline and a lifeguard tower overlooking it. Several warm ocean thermal ponds sit around the park, one near the boat ramp. The old boat harbor filled with black sand and is now a pond itself. Surfers and fishers are the regulars here. Most visitors walk the sand, look at the ponds, and take in how much the coastline changed. The only restrooms are portable toilets.

Know before you go

Getting there

Don’t use Highway 132. Take Highway 130 toward the coast, then turn left onto Highway 137. Part of the route is gravel, so drive with care.

Water conditions

This is not a swimming beach. The shore break is dangerous and the currents are strong, so only experienced surfers should go in, and they should follow lifeguard warnings.

Warm ponds

The thermal ponds aren’t disinfected, and the state tourism site warns that bacteria may be present in the warm water. Stay out if you have an open wound.

Facilities

There are portable toilets only and no drinking water, so bring your own. Isaac Hale is a county park with no entrance fee, open 7 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.

Boat ramp

A 2025 dredging project briefly reopened the boat ramp, but ocean currents soon refilled the channel. The county’s deadline for restoring the park has slipped to December 2028.