From Lonely Planet
Candy sands, disappearing waves, transformed trolls – if life’s a beach, these are its strangest days. These 10 beaches from Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Sights might not all be swimmable, but they are all extraordinary.
Papakolea, Hawaii (Lonely Planet)
1. Bowling Ball Beach, California
Compared to green sand or vanishing tides, ‘round rocks’ don’t initially sound like reason enough to visit this Californian beach. And yet, when you get down there and see the ‘bowling balls’ sitting like some tidy giant’s game on the sand, you can’t help but get a thrill. Best seen at low tide, the rocks are freakily round and freakily regular, and clustered together as if they’ve been placed there. The truth is, they’re stubborn. The softer rock around them washed away, but these tough customers withstood the waves.
If you’re driving, take Highway 1. The Bowling Balls are on the Mendocino Coast; take the Schooner Gulch Road off the highway.
2. Harbour Island, Bahamas
Blink your eyes. Are you in some kind of Lucy-in-the-Sky, fairy-floss and cream-pie hallucination? Or is that sand really…pink? Yep, it is. The colour is caused by tiny particles of coral mixing in with the white sand. Pink-sand beaches occur all along the east coast of Harbour Island. As if that’s not enough to make it your new favourite island ever, you’ll also find the classic sighing, lucid, blue Bahamas seas. You can leave the rose-coloured glasses at home for this one.
Afternoon cocktails on your private balcony looking out onto the petal-coloured sands? Lash out at Pink Sands Resort.
3. Glass Beach, California
This beach is a testament to nature’s amazing ability to turn trash into treasure. Overlooked by cliffs, this place was once seen as just a convenient dumping ground for Fort Braggs’ garbage. Up until the late 1960s, folks would hurl their refuse – including old cars and appliances – straight over the cliffs and into the oceans. Finally the authorities put a stop to it. Over the ensuing decades, the sea performed a remarkable conjuring act, acting like a huge tumbler to winnow out the glass and turn it smooth. These days the beach resembles a gem shop. People used to collect the glass, but that’s now forbidden.
Follow Fort Bragg’s Elm Street to its end and then hike down the dirt trail to the beach. Take care, the path can be treacherous.
4. Prince William Sound, Alaska
This close to the northernmost point of the Gulf of Alaska is where beaches get truly otherworldly. Tidewater glaciers spilling into the sea. Cold clear air. Mountain peaks reflected in the pure waters. And black sand framed by green hills and blue ice. That’s before you even get to the wildlife of the region – harbour seals, sea otters, whales, eagles and bears, to name but a few. It’s no wonder this is heaven for kayakers.
If kayaking around a calving glacier sounds a little hair-raising for you, consider a glacier cruise instead.
5. Papakolea, Hawaii
When it comes to beaches, the volcanic islands of Hawaii aren’t content to leave it at sugar-white. They mix it up with ebony black, Mars red – and green! Papakōlea’s not exactly blazing emerald, but it does have a distinct green tint from olivine crystals deposited on the beach by a volcanic explosion about 10,000 years ago. These crystals are heavier than the rest of the volcanic materials, so as the water washes the rest away, the beach gets greener. Eventually the olivine will run out and the beach will be grey, but not any time soon in human terms.
Papakōlea is in the Ka‘u district. You’ll have to hike in and climb down the cinder cone. But hey, it’s green!
Read the full article HERE.
