Laupahoehoe Point County Park
Laupahoehoe, HI
Laupahoehoe Point County Park sits on a dramatic black lava peninsula on the Hamakua coast, the site of a 1946 tsunami that killed more than twenty schoolchildren and teachers, memorialized with a monument near the point. The ocean here is genuinely rough and unswimmable most days, so this is a place for the view and the history, not a beach towel.
A genuinely moving piece of island history with dramatic scenery, but the water is too dangerous to swim, so it's a lookout more than a beach.
How we score beachesRead the memorial plaques before walking out to the point itself. Knowing what happened here changes how the waves crashing below actually land with you.
A free county lot serves the park at the end of the access road and rarely fills.
A flat, paved path connects the lot to the point and picnic areas, an easy walk with no stairs, though the shoreline itself is unsafe for entering the water.
Leashed dogs are welcome at Laupahoehoe Point County Park under the standard Hawaii County park rule.
The Hamakua coast stays wet in every season, and the ocean here runs rough and dangerous year round regardless of the weather.
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