While black sand beaches are often associated with other places, such as Iceland and Hawaii, the Bay Area has one of its own.

Located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area about 10 miles from San Francisco and below the Marin Headlands, this is the only black sand beach in the continental U.S. The coastline's ...

Past travelers were in awe of Punalu'u and said there was plenty of free parking, though they cautioned that the beach's black sand can get very hot. It will most likely take you some time to get ...