Big Beach at Makena State Park, Maui - Hawaii

Big Beach at Makena State Park is located on the south end of Maui and is absolutely beautiful.

This beach has light colored sand that is really soft and goes on for almost 2/3 of a mile in length.The best part is that there are no condos or hotels backing up to it so it feels less crowded and more natural.

There are two big parking lots, so if the first parking lot is full, head down to the next one. You now have to pay to park in the parking lots. It costs $10 for your vehicle and then $5 per person. They have electronic kiosks where you pay with a credit card. Once you pay, it prints out a parking ticket that you put on your car's dashboard. It cost Julie and I $20 to park there for the day.

Makena State Park has Big beach on the south end and Little Beach on the north end. Nestled between two black-lava outcroppings, Makena offers protection from the 

The area is divided into two beaches known as Big Beach and Little Beach. Although state park regulations prohibit nudity, we found that Little Beach is frequently used as a clothing optional beach. That is why this blog post is only going to focus on Big Beach.

There is a steep rocky trail that goes from Big Beach to Little Beach. At the top of that trail, you can see this view of Big Beach. It is absolutely amazing!

You can park on the street to avoid paying for parking, but you have to walk a lot longer to get to the beach.

This is the view of the entrance to Makena State Park for the 1st parking lot. There is another parking lot down the street that gives you access to the middle of Big Beach.

This is the view of the sign showing the park hours at Makena State Park. It shows the parking lot for Big Beach opens at 7am and closes at 7pm.

This is the view of the paved parking lot for Big Beach.

We paid $20 for parking at the parking meter. You have to pay with a credit card. You put your receipt in the dash of your car. The $20 gave us access to the park until 6:59pm. The park closes at 7:00pm.

The portable bathrooms on the trail to Big Beach.

The lifeguard station at the end of the trail

This view of Big Beach barely captures how beautiful this beach is.

Overall, we had an amazing time at Big Beach and would highly recommend it!

Big Beach at Makena State Park, Maui - Hawaii Map:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

Parking Fee: Parking meters only take credit cards

• $10 per vehicle
• $5 per person

Total cost: $20 for 2 people and a car.

Note: There is parking on the street that is free, but you have to walk quite a ways to get to the beach. 

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a plenty of water and some snacks
• Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face.
• Bring sunscreen
• Bring a beach towel and beach chair
• Bring a credit card to pay for parking
• This video was filmed using a Go Pro Hero 9 Black video camera

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