Kiholo Bay Photos
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Kiholo Bay, Big Island
If you were to squeeze the Big Island into a single beach, you'll end up with something like Kiholo Bay. This Kohala Coast beach has a little of everything: beautiful sights, fascinating wildlife, tide pools, ancient ponds and rock formations. There's even a mini-island made of lava rock right at the heart of the bay.
The bay itself consists of a mix of fresh and salt water, surrounded by dark lava rocks and dotted with little tide pools. The tide pools are great for swimming and snorkeling, as they have relatively calm waters compared to the rest of the bay. Much of the bay was once a Hawaiian fishpond built in 1820 by King Kamehameha I. Its boundaries were 2 miles (3.2 km) long and its rock walls were 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and 20 feet (6 m) wide. In 1859, a lava flow from the nearby Mauna Loa covered the shores in dark rock and destroyed most of the ancient fishpond.
One of the bay's main attractions is Luahinewai Pond, a deep and large freshwater pool located on the southern end of the bay. The pool is surrounded by coconut palms, lush vegetation and a black-sand beach. It is a popular swimming site. At the northern end of the bay is Wainanali'i Pond, a 5-acre brackish-water lagoon, which is an important feeding and sleeping site for green sea turtles. Sea turtles are protected by state and federal law and may not be harassed or harmed in any way.
Much of Kiholo Bay is surrounded by private homes, but the beach itself is accessible to the public. On your way to Kiholo Bay, stop at Mile Marker #82 on Highway 19, where you'll find the Kiholo Bay Scenic Overlook where you can see most of the bay and its sprawling coastline. If you plan on going to the lookout point, try to go early morning so you can enjoy the best views and get a parking slot.
Kiholo Bay Overview
- Good swimming in the bay during calm days
- Water is relatively cold due to freshwater springs in the bay
- Turtles can often times be seen here, they feed on limu (seaweed) that grows in the bay
- Location of an ancient fishpond built by King Kamehameha the Great, which was destroyed by lava flows in 1859
Location: West shore of Big Island of Hawaii Directions: From Highway 19, turn on the public access road between mile markers 82 and 83.
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