Maui, Molokini & Lānaʻi · United States · Reef
Black Rock
Five to ten green turtles on a dive, in 11 m off the beach
Area photo: Henrik Kibak · CC BY 4.0
A shore dive entered straight off the beach in front of the Black Rock Sheraton Resort, and one of the better turtle dives on Maui. The maximum depth is only around 11 m, and the site listing puts a number on the wildlife: five to ten green sea turtles on a dive. Shallow, easy and close to the car.
Also known as Puʻu Kekaʻa.
Where it is and how deep
20.9267° N, 156.6962° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive begins from the beach in front of the Black Rock Sheraton Resort, which puts the whole site within a short surface swim of where you kitted up. There is very little depth to manage: the deepest part of the dive is around 11 m, so a single tank goes a long way and the dive becomes a matter of how long you want to stay rather than how much bottom time the profile allows.
Green turtles are what people come for, and the site listing quotes a figure — five to ten green sea turtles on a dive. At these depths you can stay with one animal as long as it tolerates you, then move on and find the next. Let the turtle set the terms: keep off, leave it a clear route to the surface, and it will usually carry on feeding or resting with you alongside.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Maui, Molokini & Lānaʻi: Humpbacks are in the channel Dec–Apr; summer brings the calmest crossings and best visibility at Molokini's Back Wall.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Black Rock dive?+
The maximum depth is only around 11 m, so the whole dive stays shallow and long bottom times are easy on a single tank.
Will I see turtles at Black Rock?+
It is the reason the site is dived. The site listing quotes five to ten green sea turtles on a dive here, which makes it one of the more reliable turtle dives on Maui.
Sources
- Black Rock - Hawaii dive site — Scubago
More dive sites in Maui, Molokini & Lānaʻi
Cave & cavern
A skylit lava cavern with a fallen-rock altar
A protected bay 4 m deep, reached on foot by trail
A reef running for miles, dived from 6 m down to 24 m
A hurricane-flattened pier turned artificial reef
The outer rim's face drops 91 m into open ocean
250 fish species in a bowl the swell cannot reach
Reef
Fingered shallow reefs averaging about 4.6 m, in calm water
Similar dives elsewhere
Protected since 1967, about 400 fish species
Double horseshoe reef, nothing below 12 m
Green and hawksbill turtles at a shallow cleaning station
Two lava steps into turtle canyons at the Place of Refuge