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All the United States Hawaii Eleele Kauai Glass Beach
AO Edited

Kauai Glass Beach

This industrial area was the dumping ground for massive amounts of trash, some of which washes up as tiny bits of sea glass.

Eleele, Hawaii

Added By
shellymarie9
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Kauai Glass Beach   Eric Lin / CC BY-SA 2.0
Kauai Glass Beach   Eric Lin / CC BY-SA 2.0
Kauai Glass Beach   Eli Duke / CC BY-SA 2.0
Kauai Glass Beach   Eric Lin / CC BY-SA 2.0
Gorgeous surf at Glass Beach   STG / Atlas Obscura User
Handful of sand and glass   STG / Atlas Obscura User
  typosinkeye / Atlas Obscura User
  typosinkeye / Atlas Obscura User
Glass and rusted metal incorporated into the lava beds   shellymarie9 / Atlas Obscura User
Rusted out car part on the lava beds   shellymarie9 / Atlas Obscura User
Tiny cove formed by lava rock with a beach covered in sea glass   shellymarie9 / Atlas Obscura User
Lava arch   shellymarie9 / Atlas Obscura User
Sea glass, lava rocks, and tiny shells make up Glass Beach   shellymarie9 / Atlas Obscura User
Underwater at glass beach   RachelCassidy / Atlas Obscura User
So pretty. Didn’t have a great camera back then!   donnatalarico / Atlas Obscura User
Chicks at glass beach   RachelCassidy / Atlas Obscura User
  typosinkeye / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A tiny little beach nestled between an industrial area and an old Japanese cemetery in Kaua'i, Hawai'i, Glass Beach lives up to its name: Mixed in with the grains of sand are millions of tiny bits of colored sea glass.

Back before Kaua'i got a landfill, this industrial area was the dumping ground for mass amounts of trash, which is where all of the sea glass that comprises Glass Beach came from, though it's since been picked over by sea glass collectors.

Although the beach itself is lovely, the best part of Glass Beach—and the least visited—are the lava beds that start at the southern edge of the beach. Footing can be treacherous at times and visitors should keep a careful eye on the water, because there are numerous lava arches and holes that spout with water when there are large waves. 

Out along the lava beds, you can find rusted-out car parts, large pieces of worn glass, and even more glass pieces that have been embedded into the lava rock. It's an incredible view of nature absorbing and incorporating man's trash and transforming it into something surreal, even beautiful.

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Beaches Trash Glass

Know Before You Go

From Port Allen, drive towards the ocean and turn left on Aka Ula Rd. Once the paved road ends, park anywhere along the dirt road. Glass beach is only about a two minute walk from that point. If you continue out along the lava beds, be aware that the fields on the top of the cliff are private property, so do not plan on walking along the top of the cliff.

Community Contributors

Added By

shellymarie9

Edited By

hrnick, typosinkeye, STG, RachelCassidy...

  • hrnick
  • typosinkeye
  • STG
  • RachelCassidy
  • donnatalarico
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

June 5, 2016

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Kauai Glass Beach
171 Aka Ula St
Eleele, Hawaii, 96705
United States
21.898079, -159.584262
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Photo of Eleele

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