Epic Travel → North America → Hawaii → The Big Island → Pololu Valley/Beach

Location: Big Island North Shore, Hawaii

Time Required: 2 hours

Red Tape/Notes: None.

What’s Nearby?: Not much – but it’s a nice stop if you’re taking a road trip to view the north shore.

If you’re driving across the island, I think it’s worth the detour to go and check out Pololu Valley and Beach. It’s easy to find – just drive highway 270 until it ends. The lookout is right off the road, showing the sheer cliffs of Hawaii’s north shore as they drop precipitously into the ocean. The view opens up further down the trail, which is also worth taking. You can see the beach from the lookout, which you access via a 0.4 mile trail descending the 400 feet to the valley floor. There are some entertaining swings in the valley, interesting black sand on the beach, and loads of big and little cairns people have built from the water worn stones that lie in abundance around the beach. You can also hike back into the valley and take a trail over to a lookout of the next valley over; this adds another 2 miles or so (round trip to/from the beach).

Epic Travel → North America → Hawaii → The Big Island → Pololu Valley/Beach