The Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park, Maui - Hawaii

We were excited to go the Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park in Maui, Hawaii.

We had to make reservations in advance at GoWaianapanapa.com.

It costs $10 per vehicle and $5 per person. For us, it came to $20.83 cents.

This is what it says on the Website: "Advance reservations are now required for all vehicles, walk-in entry, and PUC vehicles visiting Waiʻānapanapa State Park. Plan your trip accordingly. Reservations may be made up to 14 days in advance, and no later than the day before your visit."

They give you slots of time to choose from that are 2.5 hours long. We got the 12:30pm to 3:00pm slot.

This Black Sand Beach is located on the east side of Maui off of the Road to Hana.

When we first saw the sign and turned off, you take a road for a long time to the entrance. At the entrance you have to show your QR code that you got from your voucher purchase.

Once in the park, we were directed to a parking lot. They manage the time slots by parking lot. That's how they know if you are there past your allotted time.

We parked  and walked to the stairs that go down to the Black Sand Beach.

The black sand is more like little black rocks or pebbles than sand.

There is a cave you can explore that leads you to the water.

We also went snorkeling and saw big schools of fish.

This beach was more crowded than most we went to, but it was still beautiful and we loved it.

This is what the sign looks like as we turned off the main road towards the state park:

As you pull into the park, you will see park workers who are going to check your QR Code from your reservation. Make sure you have it printed out in case you don't have cell reception.

As you drive in, you'll see the Wai'anapanapa State Park Sign.

This is what the parking lot looks like:

From the parking lot, you follow the sidewalk and go down the stairs to the Black Sand Beach.

These are the views of the Black Sand Beach:

As you scoop up a handful of the black sand, you realize that it is more like small black rocks or pebbles versus sand.

There is a cave you can explore that takes you out to the water. It's pretty low, so you have to really crouch down to get through.

After exploring the cave, we went and grabbed our snorkel gear and headed into the water.

As I was snorkeling you could see the black rocks all over the bottom of the ocean.

This is the view of Black Sand Beach from out snorkeling.

Overall, this was a really fun experience. Even though we had to book in advance and had to pay to visit, we still really enjoyed it and would do it again.

The Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park, Maui - Hawaii Map:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

Wai'anapanapa State Parking Voucher per Vehicle Fee: $10

Wai'anapanapa State Park Per Person Voucher Fee: $5 per person

Total cost for 1 vehicle with 2 people (with tax): $20.83

This is what the reservation confirmation and QR Code looked like:

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a plenty of water and some snacks
• Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face.
• Bring sunscreen
• Bring a beach towel and beach chair
• Wear water shoes or flip flops to protect your feet from the bigger black rocks
• Bring your snorkel gear and fins
• This video was filmed with a Go Pro Hero 9 Black video camera

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