Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: March 7, 2025
This state park trail was one of our top two favorite trails of the trip. First, we crossed Pa’iloa Beach, a 100-foot-wide black sand beach (Photo#7) where people swam. We ascended a rock trail about 50 feet and the coastal trail began – a 4.2-mile out and back trail along the coast over hard black lava. To the background of tremendous, big waves smashing against the coastal rocks, we slowly hiked up and down across the unforgiving lava. Inland there was a thick growth of Hala trees. Additional signs of green life, lichen and plants were everywhere, fighting to penetrate the black lava and reach lifegiving air and water. After a mile we reached the small stone foundation of an ancient temple (Photo#9).
