If you are interested in seeing one of the loveliest black beaches in Hawaii, take time to drive out to the end of Hwy 270 to the overlook point on the far northern tip of the Big Island. From the resort area of Waikoloa, plan on the drive taking about 90 minutes. You will travel through several quaint towns including the eclectic Hawi and Kapa’au which is the home of the original statue of King Kamehameha.

At the point lookout over Pololu Valley, you will be welcomed by several horses in the fenced in area just before the overlook parking area. As visitors came up to the fence, the horses approached to check everyone out. They were especially friendly, responding favorably to pets and scratches behind their ears.

At the parking area, there are several places that provide for outstanding photos. Unfortunately, the earthquake of October 2006 took out the main foot path down to the valley floor and beach area and the secondary trail was marked as dangerous and "NO TRESPASSING" due to damage incurred from the earthquake. With that being said, the view is spectacular and still worth the effort to make the trip to this remote area of the Big Island.

After your trip to the Pololu Valley Lookout, consider a stop at the Keokea Beach Park which offers a nice tidal pool for swimming or a spectacular viewing area to watch the locals surfing the high waves. Be careful, however, if you get into the water on the side where the surf pounds the lava rocks. The safer area may be found to the right of the elevated picnic area.

Here you will find limited facilities including fresh water showers and porta-potties, along with several picnic tables and an elevated viewing area that provides a nice perspective of the entire bay. This beach park seemed to be a popular place for locals, as we appeared to be the only tourists there during our midweek visit.

The view from the lookout is gorgeous. If you catch it on a clear day it must be even better. The hike down to the valley and beach is about 20 minutes and is quite easy in dry conditions, even though its slope is quite sharp and you will be dropping some 400 feet. It's easy to get to, it's free, and it's definitely worth visiting. Two hours will provide enough time to fully enjoy it.

It's easy to see why the road ends at this stunning view on a 400 foot cliff overlooking a wild ocean and a black sand beach. From here to the Waipio Valley is only about 10 miles as the crow flies, but much further as the intrepid hiker walks across many equally steep valleys. Guidebooks say it's about a 20 minute hike from a small (10 car) parking area to the valley floor, but the steep, sometimes muddy trail will make that speed unlikely. For non-hikers, there's a three hour muleback tour available (by Hawaii Forest & Trail).

About halfway down, there's an opening in the tree line which gives a fine view of the beach and a good photo opportunity. It's worth the climb back.

Long ago, productive taro fields lay in these valleys. But construction of the Kohala Ditch diverted much water to sugar cane fields, and the area now is overgrown.

We parked our car at the parking lot at the Pololu Valley Lookout. We actually were lucky to find a parking spot, since any cars after us had to make do with make-do spots that were far from ideal. At the lookout, we spent a considerable amount of time viewing the absolutely breathtaking terrain: mountains, ocean, surf, and valley. We also were taking our time deciding whether we wanted to hike down to the bottom. After finding out that it was about a 15-minute hike down to the beach and then hours through the valley, we decided we would at least hike down to the beach. It took us about 20 minutes to hike down the moderately sloped trail, where the footing was pretty good. In fact, it looked like the trail was created on a zigzag path to entice people like me who are only moderate hikers!

At the bottom, we reached the black-sand beach and the start of the Pololu Valley. It definitely was worth the hike down, since you really couldn’t see the valley or the beach from the top! This black beach was composed of large lava rocks and also very fine sand (which, of course, was black from lava decomposition). While on the beach, you got an excellent view of the surf crashing into all of the mountains! Because the surf was so high at this time of the year, the water was beautiful for looking, but not for swimming!

After half an hour, it was time to hike back up to the lookout point. Obviously, the return trip UP was harder. And since I had to rest a bit on the way up, it took 5 to 10 minutes longer to hike back up. It was still not a bad hike considering the view we had.

We had taken water (definitely needed), but I wished we had stopped in one of the towns and gotten a picnic lunch. It would have been fantastic to spread out a blanket and have lunch on the beach!

By the way, while hiking down, we had to move to the side to allow the procession of horseback riders returning up the trail. Notice the pig on the side of one of the horses. We found out that wild pigs exist in the valley and are hunted.