White Sand, Red Sand, Green Sand, Black Sand Beaches of Hawaii

When on our islands, there will certainly be no shortage of white sand beaches. But you will have bragging rights when you go home and tell your friends that you also got to see and maybe even feel granules of sand at your feet in the rare colors of red, green and black!

The red, green and black granules that dot our shorelines are not really sand, but rather crushed cindercones (that formed as a result of the volcanic activity that created the islands). A history of erosion of these cindercones wedded with the pummeling of our ocean waves and bore these rare and amazing scenic wonders!

Hints of where to find them? I stumbled across the red sand beach in Hana, Maui (a hike behind the Hana Hotel in Hana). The green sand beach is at the tip of South Point on the Big Island (requires a 4-wheel drive, followed by a hike). And black sand beaches can be found on the Big Island and Maui - there may be more on the other islands as well, buy my personal favorite is at Punaluu on the Big Island. Here you'll be able to dig your feet into the deep black ebony sand and watch the many honu sea turtles that dot the shoreline. You can get quite close to the sea turtles as they frolic along the nearby shore!