Big Island Guide
ACTIVITIES
BEACHES
Richardson Beach Park

Richardson Beach Park

Big Island Guide Travel Guide

Richardson Beach Park Overview

Located about 10 minutes south of the heart of Hilo, you will find a gorgeous black and green sand beach named Richardson Beach Park, a great destination for a family beach day on Hawaii’s Big Island. With a seawall along much of the rocky shoreline, Richardson Beach Park offers adjacent fish ponds, amazing swimming, snorkeling, and plenty of amenities to make your beach day safe, calm, and relaxing.

Richardson Beach Park view through trees

Marine Life and Snorkeling

Richardson Beach Park has fairly shallow and calm waters, perfect for snorkeling. The reef provides protection for marine life allowing aqueous species to move between the open ocean and the tide pools. Fresh water flowing into the area from nearby springs helps create a good environment for marine life to thrive.

Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals and Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles frequent this area. So please be aware and respectful of these endangered species. Stay at least 10 feet from a Green Sea Turtle and if there is a Hawaiian Monk Seal, please call the 24-hour hotline to report the sighting at 808-987-0765.

Activities at Richardson Beach Park

The most common activities you will see here are snorkeling, swimming, diving, surfing, fishing and picnicking. There are plenty of trees for shade and some grassy areas. Lifeguards are also on duty as ocean currents can produce hazardous waves, currents and footing during high surf.

After you’ve had a full day at the beach, stop by one of Hilo’s popular happy hour spots or restaurants for dinner.

History of the Richardson Ocean Center

This park is named after the owner of the historic Richardson home, built by George Richardson, who was Chief Detective of the County of Hawaii. George was gifted the land as a show of gratitude from the Malo family after he helped them through a difficult typhoid fever outbreak and he subsequently built the home in 1920. Today the home is occupied and operated as the Richardson Ocean Center.