Richardson Ocean Park — Attraction in Hawaii

05/02/2025 (Fri) This is one of our favorite spots and definitely our favorite beach in Hilo. The access can be a bit tricky because of the rocky terrain, but there’s a spot where turtles regularly come to rest, and we almost always see some here — today, we saw five!😊✨ It’s also great for snorkeling — the right side (facing the ocean) has shallow areas that make it easier to enter. The water is warm, incredibly clear, and perfect for snorkeling. We saw a wide variety of fish and lots of them. The beach also has a spacious parking area, around three showers, clean restrooms, and lifeguards on duty, so it feels safe and convenient.🐟 05/06/2025 (Tue) Today, I entered the water from the stone steps located across from the restrooms and showers, on the left side when facing the ocean. I had often seen families with children playing there, so I thought it was just a shallow tide pool. But maybe it was just this particular day — the water felt quite cold, was deeper than I expected, and not very clear. I swam around to the right side along the rocks. There were a few fish near the rocks, but the waves were rough further out and I didn’t see anyone snorkeling in that area.🏊🌊 I got out of the water early and went to my usual spot behind the rocks to check on the sea turtles — and there were seven of them today! Since it was already lunchtime, I wrapped...

This was a great place to go snorkeling for my first time. First, we arrived and we went to the furthest point out on the lava rock and saw probably 5 sea turtles just chilling in the sun. Family friendly atmosphere during the day. Then I got the courage to try my snorkel. I was surprised to see that right below the surface of the water, even though it appears quite clear, suddenly you can see a bunch of little yellow fishes once you stick your head in the water. They like the crevices of the rocks but the waves push you into the rocks so I held onto a rock for stability and had a blast. I saw a big blue fishy and I saw a fishy I would describe as dark rainbow. We looked up when low tide was and went then, which that day it was 4 pm. By then it was still crowded at that time but we got a parking spot on the road not too far away. We saw a tour bring people here so we know it's a good spot. It felt like locals came out more in the evening and perhaps it would be best to leave. Not sure but just a hunch. Didn't feel unsafe or anything, just keeping that in mind. There's no life guard past 5 I think it was. The ground is rocky near the water and husband did cut his feet. I had water flip flops but I was fine. Water shoes would be far better. I was gripping with my toes...

Richardson Ocean Park is a wonderful spot to snorkel. Bring your sturdy wet shoes because the lava rock you will be stepping on is unforgiving! This is also a beautiful beach. Once you step onto the beach, there will be a sign by the trees to the right if you're looking out into the ocean. It's informing you about Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles and to keep your distance from them to keep them wild and unharmed, please respect this. If you walk past the sign, there will be large sections of lava rock to walk/scramble along. In the water within this, there were several of these turtles lounging about and swimming. One was MASSIVE! Probably 3 feet long. Definitely the biggest one we've seen while we've been here. Almost everyone was respectful of the honu (turtle), but one lady got considerably close to take a selfie and was quickly yelled at by a woman sitting watch. We didn't bring our snorkel gear here, but it was probably for the best since we had yet to buy water shoes. Our feet would have been slashed up...