Just past town the surf breaks on a beach of jet-black sand at Waiʻānapanapa State Park — sand made not of coral but of lava, ground fine by the sea. The coast here is volcanic and dramatic: a black-pebble cove, sea caves, lava arches, blowholes, and freshwater pools, with a trail running along the cliffs. It is one of the most striking shorelines in the islands, and so sought-after it now runs on timed reservations. Black sand, green cliffs, blue water: that is the Hāna coast in three colors.
The modern town took shape more quietly than most of Hawaiʻi. A sugar mill opened in 1849 and plantations worked the coast for a century, until the last mill closed in the 1940s. When sugar failed, a San Francisco businessman named Paul Fagan bought up land, started the Hāna Ranch with Hereford cattle, and in 1946 opened the hotel that became the Hotel Hāna-Maui — turning Hāna into a small, slow, deliberately undeveloped retreat. It has stayed that way: a working ranch town and a handful of cottages at the end of the long road.
Why People Visit Hāna
People come the length of the highway for the quiet at the end of it: a pocket of old Hawaiʻi with black-sand beaches, waterfalls, and a slow, traditional pace. The drive is the point, and Hāna is the reward — so take it slowly, and travel with respect for a place that has kept old Hawaiʻi close.
