The Golden Pools of Ke-awa-iki

Fish in a Golden Pool.

The Golden Pools of Ke-awa-iki, with its myth-evoking name, is a place of astonishing natural beauty along the Kohala Coast, a hidden treasure that most visitors to the Big Island will never see. A golden-hued algae growing on the submerged lava lends these pools their distinctive color. The pools, filled from an underground aquifer, served as a traditional source of fresh water for native Hawaiian communities nearby. The largest pool is teeming with schools of fish, which feed on the algae growth.

The trailhead may be found here. After the trail traverses about a mile of rugged a’a lava, the pools appear as an oasis on the horizon. The trail continues past the pools to a remote coral-rubble beach. Walk south along the beach to the next cove: Malawakena Beach.