Check the Beach

Papakolea Beach

Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States

Papakolea Beach 1 photo

  • This is one of very few green sand beaches in the world. Ride to this beach is quite an adventure. There is no easy way to go here unless you have UTV or high-powered all wheel drive. We hitched a rid

    This is one of very few green sand beaches in the world. Ride to this beach is quite an adventure. There is no easy way to go here unless you have UTV or high-powered all wheel drive. We hitched a rid. Pushkr from , United States, CC BY 2.0. Source

Tomorrow at a glance

Calmest: 7 am to 10 am, sunset 5:53 pm
7 am
6.3
14 km/h9 mph wind, Good
8 am
6.1
15 km/h10 mph wind, Good
9 am
5.9
23 km/h14 mph wind, Good
10 am
5.6
29 km/h18 mph wind, Good
11 am
5.1
34 km/h21 mph wind, Fair
12 pm
4.7
35 km/h22 mph wind, Fair
1 pm
4.6
35 km/h22 mph wind, Fair
2 pm
4.6
31 km/h19 mph wind, Fair
3 pm
4.0
30 km/h19 mph wind, Fair
4 pm
4.0
29 km/h18 mph wind, Fair
5 pm
4.0
30 km/h19 mph wind, Fair

This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.

Where to stay near the beach

Compare hotels and apartments near Papakolea Beach.

Partner links

Staying a few days? Conditions improve from Sat, so a beachfront room still pays off.

Loads the map from Stay22, our stays partner.

Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.

Forecast, hour by hour

Beach score for daylight hours, today and tomorrow. Wind in km/hmph underneath.

Air
26°C79°F
Water
27°C80°F
Wind
3019 km/hmph ENE
Gusts
4125 km/hmph
Waves
1.7 m5 ft
UV
0 low
Tide
rising
Rain
0%
Sunset
5:53 pm
Today
7.0Great7 am2315
7.9Great8 am2314
7.7Great9 am2616
7.5Great10 am2817
7.3Great11 am2918
5.3Fair12 pm3119
5.2Fair1 pm3019
4.6Fair2 pm3019
4.4Fair3 pm3018
4.4Fair4 pm3019
5.1Fair5 pm3018
Fri
6.3Good7 am149
6.1Good8 am1510
5.9Good9 am2314
5.6Good10 am2918
5.1Fair11 am3421
4.7Fair12 pm3522
4.6Fair1 pm3522
4.6Fair2 pm3119
4.0Fair3 pm3019
4.0Fair4 pm2918
4.0Fair5 pm3019
Green, 7 and upYellow, 4 to 7Red, under 4Calmest stretch

Tide, next 24 hours

Tide rising now. High at 2 am, 0.9 m. Low at 7 am, 0.4 m. High at 1 pm, 0.9 mHigh 2 am, 0.9 m3 ftLow 7 am, 0.4 m1 ftHigh 1 pm, 0.9 m3 ftNow2 am8 am2 pm8 pm
  • High 2 am, 0.9 m3 ft
  • Low 7 am, 0.4 m1 ft
  • High 1 pm, 0.9 m3 ft

Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.

The days ahead

Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.

  • Sat7.9 GreatBest 8 am to 9 amWind up to 23 km/h14 mph, rain 33%
  • Sun8.8 ExcellentBest 10 am to 2 pmWind up to 17 km/h11 mph, rain 45%
  • Mon6.7 GoodBest 7 am to 1 pmWind up to 25 km/h15 mph, rain 31%
  • Tue5.1 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 16 km/h10 mph, rain 78%
  • Wed4.8 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 24 km/h15 mph, rain 60%

Beach info

Facilities and the beaches next door.

About Papakolea Beach

Papakolea Beach is a beach in the Kaʻū district, Hawai'i. It spans 790 feet in length and is located near Mahana Beach, which is 20 feet away. There is one parking area within 0.31 miles of the beach.

From Wikipedia

Papakōlea Beach (also known as Green Sand Beach or Mahana Beach) is a green sand beach located near South Point, in the Kaʻū district of the island of Hawaiʻi. It is one of only two green sand beaches in the world, the other being Punta Cormorant on Floreana Island in the Galapagos Islands It gets its distinctive coloring from olivine sand eroded out of the enclosing volcanic cone (tuff ring).

Source: Papakōlea Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Data sources

Facilities

  • Parking1 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 80 m250 ft. Fee not listed
  • Wheelchair accessNot listed

Getting there

Nearest airport
92 km57 miBradshaw Army Airfield (BSF)

Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources

Nearby beaches