Kiholo Bay is a historic area under government regulation and protection as the Kīholo State Park Reserve. It is full of history and Hawaiian heritage. Dating all the way back to 1820, Kiholo was once a thriving fishing village. It was a residence of Hawaiian chiefs and home to one of the largest fishponds in Kona, Wainanali’i Pond. The pond was created as a man-made fishing pond for King Kamehameha the Great.
Wainanali’i Pond was surrounded by large walls that measured 6 ft high and 20 ft wide. Unfortunately, the great walls were demolished by a massive lava flow that tore through the area in 1859 from the Mauna Loa volcano that is located a staggering 29 miles away. This caused the pond to be covered in a thick layer of glowing magma. Once it cooled, it formed the black pebble beaches that remain on the beach to this day. The large stones that surround the tide pools are the only remnants of Kamehameha’s great pond.
Kiholo Bay was also home to the famous “Queen’s Bath”, also called Keanalele. It was formed by a collapsed lava tube filled with fresh water from a nearby natural spring. It is a sacred spot for Hawaiians. Only ancient Hawaiian royalty, also known as the Ali’i, were allowed to enter the pool for bathing and relaxation.
Although the majority of Kiholo Bay is public property, some residential areas of the bay are privately owned. It is unavailable for research or conservation efforts. In 2011, a large portion of the privately-owned property in Kīholo Bay was donated to the Nature Conservancy by Angus Mitchell. Mitchell had inherited $6.5 million worth of property in Kīholo Bay from his father, Paul Mitchell.
The Nature Conservancy is currently under the native Hawaiian non-profit group called Hui Aloha Kīholo. Hui Aloha Kīholo is a non-profit organization that has held an active Curatorship agreement with Hawaii State Parks for Kīholo since 2009. They help to protect this beautiful place by banning driving to the beach, working to restore the area to help the health of native fish, marine life, and the endangered Green Sea Turtle in this area,
Nowadays, Kiholo Bay, along with the gorgeous Wainanali’i Pond or the Blue Lagoon, is a beautiful spot perfect for hiking, snorkeling or just visiting the endangered Green Turtle. The place is full of perfect tidepools, picturesque coastline, clear turquoise water, and basking Honu (Green Sea Turtle).
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2 Comments
Darrell Ziegler
In this article you incorrectly refer to Keanalele as Queen’s Bath. There never was a Queen’s Bath at Kiholo. The water filled cave and lava tube Keanalele was the source of fresh drinking water for families of the region that would seasonally take up residence at Kiholo. No one entered or swam in Keanalele which maintained the purity of the water for future use. Today Keanalele is continually degraded and polluted by people entering and swimming with sunscreen, bug spray, hair products, deodorant, etc. you also show a picture of someone in Keanalele. There are signs at the main entrance to the Kiholo State Park Preserve and just before the entrance to the day use parking area that state that entry into caves and lava tubes is prohibited by Hawaii State Law HSC 6D with penalties for violation of this law include a fine of not less than $1000. Please support the efforts of Hui Aloha Kiholo in cleansing and restoring Keanalele, an important natural resource by deleting the incorrect reference to Queen’s Bath, by stating that entry into Keanalele is prohibited by State Law and removing the photo of the person in Keanalele which encourages illegal activity. Mahalo
Vy
Hey Darrell, there weren’t any signages about not swimming in there at the time when we went, only about not using sunscreen and such. We make the corrections. Thank you for the info.