Makalawena beach Hawaii Trailblazer Janine Sprout

Kekaha Kai State Park, formerly known as ''Kona Coast State Park'', is a beach park located along the north Kona coast on the island of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The main beach areas are Maniniowali Bay (Kua Bay), Makalawena beach at Puu Alii Bay, and Mahaiula Bay. The park's name originates from the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

words ''ke kaha kai'' which translate to "the shore line" in English.

Park sections

The northern section of the park is on Maniniowali Bay located at coordinates . This beach area is popularly called Kua Bay since it is easier to pronounce. A paved road north of

Kona International Airport Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole is the primary airport on the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaiʻi, located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States. The airport serves leeward (western) Hawaii (island), ...

leads to the beach. Black-necked Stilt

The

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

area behind Makalawena beach was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

in 1972. The

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

is known as Ōpaeula Pond (Hawaiian for "

red shrimp Red Shrimp was an airborne high-bandwidth radar jammer fitted to the Avro Vulcan, Vulcan and Handley Page Victor, Victor. The name was one of the Rainbow Codes, its official name was ARI.18076, for Airborne Radio Installation. Red Shrimp was bas ...

") and was the site of a small fishing village that was wiped out in the 1946 tsunami. The of wetland provide one of the last remaining nesting grounds of the ''āeo'' (

Hawaiian stilt The Hawaiian stilt (''Himantopus mexicanus knudseni'') is an endangered Hawaiian subspecies of the black-necked stilt (''H. mexicanus'') species. It is a long-legged, slender shorebird with a long, thin beak. Other common names include the Hawai ...

, ''Himantopus mexicanus knudseni''), the ''alae keokeo'' (

Hawaiian coot The 'ʻAlae keʻokeʻo (''Fulica alai''), also known as the ''Hawaiian coot'' in English, is a bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that is endemic to Hawaiʻi. In Hawaiian, ''ʻalae'' is a noun and means ''mud hen''. ''Kea'' or its synonym ''keo' ...

, ''Fulica alai''), and the only known breeding area for the ''aukuu'' (

black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax'') r black-capped night heron commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and Nort ...

, ''Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli'') in Hawaii. The pond is located at coordinates in the privately owned area between the two sections of the state park. Mahaiula Bay is accessed by an unpaved lava road which heads west off the main highway a short distance north of the airport. The Mahaiula section is located at coordinates and has a sandy beach with a picnic area. A section of the historic Ala Kahakai coastal trail connects Mahaiula and Kua Bay. A hike up Puu Kuili offers a wide view of the coastline from the summit of the

cinder cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, volcanic cone, conical landform of loose pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are forme ...

. The park is open daily from 8:00 am – 7:00 pm.

External links

Hawaii-Guide.com

Hawaii-Outside.com

References

{{authority control Beaches of Hawaii (island) State parks of Hawaii Protected areas of Hawaii (island) Wetlands of Hawaii Landforms of Hawaii (island) National Natural Landmarks in Hawaii