Just a little north of Ka Lae (South Point) on the Big Island is Papakolea Beach (the Green Sand Beach) located at Mahana Bay. The sand contains Olivine, or Peridot the birth stone for August, a green semiprecious stone that gives the sand an Army-green color.

From the boat ramp at South Point, take a footpath leading east toward Kaulana Bay. You walk for three miles north and come to Papakolea Beach, known as the Green Sand Beach. The beach lies at the base of Pu'u o Mahana, at Mahana Bay, where a cinder cone formed during an early eruption of Mauna Loa. The road to the beach starts as a jeep trail and disintegrates from there. The path is dark red in color with beautiful grass and follows a rugged shoreline. The beach is hard to spot, you will see an eroded cinder cone at the edge of the sea. Looking over the edge you will see a beach with a green tinge. Getting down to the beach is a bit of a scramble, with a few drops of 3 to 5 feet. The hike can be very windy and you will want good walking shoes.

Be very aware of the waves at the beach. The current at the beach is very strong and should only be entered on calm days, it can be especially bad on windy days. It is also worse the further from the beach you go.