Ho'okena Beach Park is a beautiful beach with great snorkeling located on the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

They have a free parking lot, but it fills up fast so get there early.

This beach has public bathrooms and you can also camp there with a permit.

You can see on the map where Ho'okena Beach Park is located.

The parking lot is small, but we found a space and parked.

As you get to the turnoff, you'll see a sign for the public beach parking. 

You'll take the 1-lane road down to the parking lot.

After parking, we saw that they have public bathrooms and a covered pavilion 

We then walked from the parking lot over to the beach.

Ho'okena beach has a mixture of regular sand and black sand, which gives it a gray sand look. We walked to the far end of the beach and then got in to do some snorkeling.

This entire beach has a vibrant coral reef. We got in on the far end and worked our way snorkeling to the other side of the beach. This is what we saw:

After snorkeling we hung out and soaked up the sun at this beautiful beach.

Overall, we loved Ho'okena Beach Park and would highly recommend it on your next trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.

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

 Ho'okena Beach Park has free parking. The parking lot is small so you want to get there early to get a parking spot.

Total Cost: $0

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring your own snorkel gear.
• Bring some drinks and snacks.
• Bring reef safe sunscreen.