Red Sand Beach, Kaihalulu Beach, is a
pocket beach
A pocket beach is usually a small beach that is isolated between two headlands. There is typically very little or no exchange of sediment between the pocket beach and adjacent shorelines.
Pocket beaches can be natural or artificial. Many natural ...
located on
Kaihalulu Bay. It is on the island of
Maui, Hawaii, on Kauiki Head.
Location
Kaihalulu Bay and Red Sand Beach lie at , on the side of Ka'uiki Head, which is a
cinder cone
A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...
just south of
Hana Bay, on the eastern coast of
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
island.
The bay name comes from ''kai halulu'' which means "roaring sea" in the
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...
.
The hill name comes from ''ka uiki'' which means "the glimmer". It was the site of a fortress and temple (''
heiau'') where several battles were fought against invaders from
Hawaii island
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of t ...
.
It was also the birthplace of powerful civil leader
Queen Kaahumanu
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
.
Red Sand Beach is partially shielded from the rough open
ocean by an offshore
reef. The result is a natural
sea wall that protects the bay from large waves.
Kaihalulu is one of the few red sand beaches in the world. The sand is a deep red-black, which contrasts with the blue water, the black sea wall, and the green ironwood trees. The cinder cone behind the beach erodes constantly, which continually enlarges the cove.
This hill is rich in iron and is why the beach's sand is such a deep red.
Kaihalulu is extremely isolated and requires a fairly short, yet perilous hike to reach. The
trail to the beach crosses over private property and follows a
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
high above the ocean below. Signs warn visitors that no trespassing is allowed and the path is rather steep and narrow and is quite slippery due to the loose and crumbling
cinder as well as needles from nearby
ironwood trees. The trail also passes by an ancient Japanese
cemetery. Because of the beach's isolation and difficult access, some visitors consider it to be
clothing optional.
References
External links
* {{cite web , title= Red Sand Beach is a hidden gem , work= Virtual Guidebooks , date= January 4, 2002 , author= G. Donald Bain , url= http://www.virtualguidebooks.com/Hawaii/Maui/HanaBayBeaches/RedSandBeachHana_S.php , accessdate= September 19, 2010 A panorama of the beach
user-generated Google map of location and trail
Beaches of Maui