Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 22472h ago)
Max Depth
30ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Black Rock
Black Rock was formed from one of the last-gasp lava flows on this side of the island. It is a rocky outcrop at the far North end of Ka’anapali Beach and blocks off access (from the beach) to the lesser-known Ka’anapali Resort beach called Kahekili Beach Park. The Hawai’ian name for Black Rock is Pu’u Keka’a, and ancient Hawaiians believed that this was the place where their spirits went to jump off to join ancestors forever. Unlucky souls who could not be shown the way by their family ‘aumakua (guardian animal spirit), would wander and attach themselves to rocks in the area. This is likely where the “it is bad luck to take a Hawai’ian lava rock” superstition comes from.
This is also a popular spot for cliff jumping. If you are cliff jumping, swim to the far side of the rock and climb up from there. It's much more challenging and dangerous to reach the rock by click up it from shore.
Access
shore
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Ali
Apr 26, 2013, 12:00 AM
scuba
We went on April 24, 2013. There is no parking that is convenient, but we had our friends drop us off next to the Sheraton where there is shore access via a path along the golf course - from there it is a very short walk to an easy entry. (another option that we have used in the past is to drop off one buddy with the gear at the golf course location, and then park at whaler's village and have the driver walk back from there.) Conditions were good relative to other sites in West Maui. Lots of fish, we saw at about 6 turtles, and we got to swim with four spotted eagle rays. Very cool. Be aware that there is often (if not always) a medium current coming back around Black Rock (when you are returning northward), so make sure to allow sufficient time and energy to swim back against the current around the point. Dive is not very deep, so you can have plenty of bottom time. If you are diving in West Maui, this is a must dive.
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