Black Sands Hawaii Map

About Black Sands, Hawaii

Black Sands is a locality in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is a small community with a population of 416. The population density is 297.4 people per km². Black Sands is located at 19.4122°N, 154.9604°W. It observes the Hawaii Standard Time — no DST (Pacific/Honolulu) timezone. ZIP code: 96778.

Black Sands holds a rugged, elemental character defined by the stark obsidian grains that blanket the earth near the slopes of Heiheiahulu. It lies 12.5 miles south of Hawaiian Paradise Park, HI (from Hawaiian Paradise Park, HI: bearing 176°T), and is situated 7.9 miles south-southeast of Ainaloa. The landscape here is defined by the dense, verdant expanse of the Keauohana Forest Reserve, which presses against the volcanic soil, creating a sharp contrast between the light-starved undergrowth and the gleaming, dark ground. While the coastline remains two miles distant, the air carries a persistent salinity that drifts inland, dampening the heat of the sun and softening the edges of the jagged, porous rock. At dusk, the light catches the metallic flecks in the sand, turning the ground into a muted, shimmering expanse that feels as ancient and unyielding as the cooling lava that birthed it.

Black Sands exists within the administrative boundaries of the State Department of Land State Resource Management Area, a designation that underscores the quiet, protective stewardship inherent to this terrain. While the economic memory of the region once leaned toward the cycles of sugarcane and pineapple, the rhythm of Black Sands today is dictated by a slower, more deliberate connection to the land and the distant, rhythmic pull of the tides at Pohoiki Bay. Residents navigate a life shaped by kuleana, balancing the legacy of Polynesian voyaging with the practical realities of a landscape that is still being reshaped by the earth itself. Although the Puna Forest Hunters Trail lies eight miles away, the sense of isolation remains profound, interrupted only by the occasional sound of water moving toward the distant Waiākea Stream, anchoring the people of Black Sands to a geography that demands both respect and silence.

About This Black Sands Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Black Sands, Hawaii. Coordinates: 19.412161, -154.960408. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Black Sands includes the ZIP code (96778), telephone area code (808), county seat of Hawaii County (Hilo), and school district assignment (Hawaii Department of Education).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.