3 remote Big Isle
beaches pass
environmental study

The Clean Beaches Council gives
those locations a thumbs-up

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO >> Three Big Island beaches were the only ones in Hawaii to be certified as clean, safe and environmentally sound in a national listing released Friday by the private, nonprofit Clean Beaches Council of Fredericksburg, Va.

The catch is that all three -- Halape, Kaaha and Keauhou -- are in one of the most remote, sun-blasted parts of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

After warning that anyone wanting to hike to the beaches has to register with the park, ranger Mardie Lane added, "They should be sure-footed and strong-hearted."

The trail is several miles long. "The sun is unrelenting, the humidity is high and there are volcanic fumes adrift," Lane said.

After crossing this semidesert, the hiker reaches Halape, with white sand and coconut trees; Kaaha, with rocky pools; and Keauhou, a reef-protected lagoon. All three are nesting sites for endangered hawksbill turtles.

If it seems there are other good beaches in Hawaii that did not get recognition, it may be because the Clean Beaches Council gives certification only where a business or agency asks for it.

The 4-year-old council says the program doubled in size last year and grew another 40 percent this year. Beaches in 18 states are listed.