Richardson Ocean Park - Park in Hilo - 2355 Kalanianaole St, USA

Our airbnb host recommended this as a nice swim and hang out spot near hilo. He was spot on. Clean showers, black sand. Decent snorkeling. Some great boogie boarding waves out past a sand bar. Some beautiful ponds and resting areas for dozens of sea turtles!!!

Superbe plage - Beaucoup de place pour garer sa voiture. La plage est assez petite mais heureusement qu’il n’y a pas énormément de monde. L’endroit est parfait pour faire du snorkeling, cependant, l’accès à la mer est « assez » difficile. Quelques rochers font obstacle avant de pouvoir y accéder. De petite vague mais un courant assez fort par moment. La plage est surveillé de 9h à 17h.

Pretty low key area for snorkeling. The parking was pretty easy and overflow went along the road. Shower area and bathrooms were super clean and well maintained. I really thought that it would be wet and gross and was pleasantly surprised. I did go during the earlier part of the day though, to be fair. In the water, there’s a bit of a rock barrier that makes it relatively easy to get in to the snorkeling side without damaging the reef and fishies. If the waves are strong, you do get a little bashed about if you’re not careful. There’s actually two swimming sides to Richardson’s - one side that has steps to get into the water (this side I found to be calm but kinda dirty), and the ocean side with the rock barrier that was beautiful and super clear. To the right of the ocean side is a little protective cove where we saw upwards of 15 turtles!! It was super cool. Overall, glad we found this little spot to have our longest snorkel adventure in!

Lovely black sand beach. Quite small in terms of actual sand area. Small funnel shaped entrance to the ocean. There is a lifeguard on duty and there are public restroom facilities. The ocean is super clear once you get away from the shore. Best fish I’ve seen on this side of Hawaii. Currents can be rather throng, so you just have flippers. There is an area just west of where you enter to surf. Would definitely recommend and go again for the snorkeling!

Nice black sand beach! Very rocky. It was crowded when we arrived. Parking was hard to find. We only stayed a few minutes to watch the sea turtles! There was a life guard on site, and the water was rough compared to other beaches. Overall, it was a nice experience to visit but we prefer Hapuna Beach if you are looking to swim.

Wow. Amazing green-black beach just outside of Hilo (not a true green beach, like Mahana Beach near the Southernmost Point, but waaay more accessible). Dramatic views and amazingly diverse coastline. Full facilities and packed with locals on weekends and holidays.

Beautiful snorkeling, stick to the right side for shallow water and close up views, the middle for a mix of shallow and deeper and the left side for deeper until you get to the other sections of the park that are shallow again. The showers to rinse off after your swim are super helpful.

Nice family beach.. black sands area, quiet tree covered area, nice snorkeling area, great spot for swimming tide pools. All around a great beach.