A lot of people visitng Maui know about the black sand beach on the Hana side of the island. This is a chance to find the only one on the Makena side of the island. you can drive right up to it on the unpaved road and there is parking right there. no facililites here but a beautiful view and the opportunity to see black sand beach. the park is only open 7-4, the gate is then locked to the area. It is much easier to go in by the road than climb over the hills from a different approach, and you will see the correct signs.
update 8/4/2019 the terrain rating is for the rutty road to get to the beach, it is ok for rental cars to drive there.
Black sand beach on continents, sand is largely comprised of quartz grains because quartz is more resistant to weathering than most of the other abundant rock-forming minerals. As a result, most sand is white to tan. In tropical and sub-tropical areas, much of the sand is derived from corraline material, and again is white to tan. "However, where the "parent material" is basalt, there is little quartz and the weathering results in black sand. This is usually when the lava flow reaches the ocean and cools quickly, causing it to fragment. This is generally only found in areas with relatively recent lava flows where coral hasn't had a chance to build reefs nearby. Once reefs build and corraline sand begins to form, the basalt sand is often washed away and/or removed by weathering processes because it is less resistant. Therefore, worldwide, black sand beaches are a relatively rare phenomenon.
Logging requirements
1.GC number and name of cache on first line
2.number in your group.
3.Is the sand coarse or fine?
4.What colors do you see in the sand and WHY DO YOU THINK THESE COLORS ARE PRESENT.
5. at this location is also a wetland area and there are 3 signs about it. give me the title of the 3 signs OR take a picture of you or your gpsr at the beach. If you do take a picture do not include the signs in the picture OR IT WILL BE DELETED. send answers to me by email and do not include in your log even if encrypted. send answers on same day you log your find.