Mauna Kea Beach is located on the northwest side of the Big Island of Hawaii.

This beach is both a resort and a public beach.

You can drive there and pay $21 if there are any spaces left or you can hike from Hapuna Beach. Hapuna Beach has a $10 fee for non-Hawaii residents.

It's a 2.4 mile out and back hike.

This beach is also known as Kauna'oa Beach.

We drove up to the northwest side of the Big Island of Hawaii to get there.

We first tried to drive to this beach. Because it is a private resort and a public beach there is very limited parking. We went to the gate to see if we could get in, but the parking was full. If there had been parking available, we would have gone in and paid the $21 parking fee.

We knew that if the parking was full, we could still hike to the beach from Hapuna Beach. So we headed down to Hapuna Beach.

We got to Hapuna Beach which is just south of Mauna Kea Beach. We parked and headed out on the 2.4 mile out and back hike.

To start the hike, you go to the north end of Hapuna Beach and follow the trail. It is well marked.

The 1.2 mile hike to Mauna Kea Beach goes right along the coastline and is beautiful.

When your almost there, you will hike along the golf course, go past a house and then you'll see the entrance to the beach.

We walked to the other side of the beach to go snorkeling around the Manta Ray Point Overlook area.

Here is an aerial view of where we went snorkeling.

We entered the water from the beach and snorkeled out to the Manta Ray Point Overlook area.

The water was choppy when we went so the visibility wasn't that great. We still enjoyed it though.

After snorkeling, we got out and relaxed and enjoyed the beach before hiking back to Hapuna Beach.

Overall, the hike to Mauna Kea Beach was definitely worth it. We had a great time exploring, snorkeling, and just relaxing here. We would highly recommend driving or hiking to be able to visit this beach.

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

Mauna Kea Beach costs $21 if you drive and park or it is a $10 parking fee if you hike from Hapuna Beach. We chose to do the hike because the parking was full, so it was free for us.

Total Cost: $10

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a credit card to pay for parking ($21 or $10 depending on where you park) if you are driving.
• We hiked in flip flops, but if running shoes or hiking shoes would make it more comfortable.
• Bring your own snorkel gear.
• Bring some drinks and snacks.
• Bring reef safe sunscreen.