Kaanapali Black Rock Beach – Maui, Hawaii

Photo: Jeff Greenberg

Pu’u Keka’a” is the Hawaiian term for Black Rock. The large, black lava flow juts out into the Pacific Ocean and virtually divides Kaanapali Beach on Maui, Hawaii in half.

If you do not want to pay for a cruise to do some great snorkeling, Black Rock is supposed to have some great underwater viewing for snorkelers. Black Rock lava flow is the last lava flow on the island of Maui.

If you don’t find the snorkeling good at Black Rock give Old Airport beach a try. It is just around the point from Black Rock.

If you are not staying at one of the hotels that line Kaanapali Beach, there are public access paths so that you can also get down to the same beach where others are paying hundreds of dollars a night to stay.

Each night the Sheraton Hotel, which is anchored right into Black Rock, puts on an act where a diver climbs out onto the end of Black Rock with a torch. At the appropriate time, the diver tosses his torch into the ocean and then dives in. This is symbolic because ancient Maui residents believed that their spirits “jumped off” or left this world at this spot.