Big Island · Puna

Kehena Black Sand Beach

Kehena

Kehena Black Sand Beach
Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 3.0

Kehena Black Sand Beach (locally "Dolphin Beach") is a pocket cove on the Red Road (Hwy 137) at approximately mile marker 19, between Pohoiki and Kalapana…

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How to visit

Kehena is a clothing-optional beach by long-running local convention; either participate or don't, but do not photograph beachgoers without explicit permission. The spinner dolphins that visit the bay are wild and federally protected — do not approach, do not swim with, fifty-yard minimum. The Sunday afternoon drum circle is a community ritual going back fifty years; observe, do not bring your own drum, do not livestream. The currents are strong and people have drowned here; respect the water. The cliff stairs are unmaintained scrambles since the 1975 earthquake destroyed them; descend carefully.

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