There was a time when the beach was ranked among the best beaches of the world. The black sand on the beaches stretches to a distance of three thousand feet. But because of the fact that in recent times there has been industrial and sewage waste being dumped into the ocean. This has resulted in the beach being polluted to a major extent. There was an effort made to reclaim the beach, and this was successful in getting the beach cleaned up to a certain degree. But despite those efforts the water is still cloudy and is cold. As a result there are very few tourists who come to this beach. But there are a lot of surfers and canoes who come to the beach, and it is very popular with them.

Another beach located in the vicinity of the coastal town of Hilo is the Coconut Island Park. Among all of the beaches located in the coastal town of Hilo, the swimming in the Coconut Island Park beach is the most decent of all. This is a very popular location among the families as well. This is because of the fact that besides the good swimming, there are groves of both ironwood and coconut trees which give shade to those who want to have a picnic, and these also shelter the swimming pool naturally which is very good for the children.