Top LGBTQ Beaches in Hana, Hawaii
Located on the island of Maui, Waiʻānapanapa State Park is a beautiful oceanfront state park that has multiple unnamed black sand and pebbly beaches. The main beach in Waiʻānapanapa State Park is known as Black Sand Beach and it is also known as Honokalani Beach, and Pa‘iloa Beach. Black Sand Beach was listed by the travel website TripSavvy as one of the world’s best black sand beaches, and Waiʻānapanapa State Park/ Black Sand Beach has been named the 29th Best Beach in the Top 50 Beaches in the United States list in 2022 by Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as "Mr. Beach." The black sand found on Waiʻānapanapa State Park’s beaches is formed from weathered lava fragments and igneous rocks – these black-colored rocks turn into sand due to erosion by wind and water over thousands of years. The beaches in Waiʻānapanapa State Park are present near dense forests. As an interesting fact, the name of the state park means "glistening water" in the Hawaiian language. Many sea cliffs are present near the beaches in Waiʻānapanapa State Park. In addition, a rock arch is also present in the water near Waiʻānapanapa State Park.
Located in the town of Hana, Red Sand Beach - also known as Kaihalulu Beach and Secret Beach - is a unique and exquisite crescent-shaped beach with red sand and rocky portions. This beach is situated at the base of steep forested hillsides and a volcanic cinder cone named Ka'uiki Head is also present near the beach. Offshore rock formations are also present in the water near the beach, along with an offshore reef. The beach is gradually expanding in size as the nearby volcanic cinder cone undergoes erosion constantly - the eroded rocky parts of the cinder cone undergo further weathering to become sand and eventually get deposited on the beach. The sand in Red Sand Beach gets its red color due to the considerably high amount of iron oxide present in it - this iron oxide comes from the eroded rocky portions of the volcanic cinder cone. Red Sand Beach has also been listed in an article by HAWAII Magazine titled "Black, Red, Green: Where to Find Hawaii’s Phenomenal Colored Sand Beaches." The beach’s Hawaiian name (Kaihalulu Beach) comes from the Hawaiian phrase "kai halulu" which means "roaring sea" in the Hawaiian language. The area near the beach has an ancient Japanese cemetery. An old Hawaiian fortress-temple called a heiau was also present on the hill above the beach and the area near the beach was also the birthplace of Queen Kaʻahumanu, who was a powerful civil leader during the early 19th century.
