Showing 1-17 of 17 results
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'Anaeho'omalu Beach Park's beach
'Anaeho'omalu Beach Park's beach is a narrow strip of sand with shady palms that separates an extremely calm bay from two ancient fishponds. Popular with families, swimmers and picnickers. This is perhaps the only beach suited to windsurfing; snorkeling is decent at the north end, directly in front of the sluice gate; and drinking water, showers and bathrooms are available.
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Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area
Hapuna is legendary as having Hawai'i's most accessible beaches. Its clear water and golden sand are the picture of a classic tropical beach and it is ranked among the world's best beaches by Condé Nast Traveler . When calm, Hapuna affords good swimming and diving, but winter surf can produce strong currents and a pounding shorebreak. Numerous tourists unfamiliar with the water conditions have drowned, so be careful.
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Ho'okena beach
Ho'okena beach is medium-sized with soft dark sands backed by a steep green hillside. The bay's waters are often calm and great for swimming and kayaking. The snorkeling is decent, with a fair amount of coral, some fish, and often dolphins and sea turtles, though it drops off quickly. Be aware of strong currents further out. The beach park has a picnic pavilion, bathrooms, showers and a hang-loose vibe, but no drinking water.
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Honoli'i Beach Park
North of downtown Hilo, the protected cove at Honoli'i Beach Park has Hilo's best bodyboarding and surfing, particularly for beginners. A lovely, well-tended grassy picnic area fronts the beach, with fantastic views of Hilo, plus there are rest rooms, outdoor showers and a lifeguard. Honoli'i isn't the best for swimming, as the adjacent river often muddies the waters.
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Isaac Hale Beach Park
Isaac Hale Beach Park (Hale is pronounced ' ha -lay') at Pohoiki Bay is basically a line of parking spaces along a rocky beach with a boat ramp at one end. On weekends there's usually a frenzy of activity, as local families and teens picnic, fish, swim, surf and hang out. However, the swimming is limited due to the rough water, which makes for challenging surfing so long as you avoid the rocks.
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Ka'upulehu
Even if you're not high-rolling enough to stay at either of the two exclusive resorts in Ka'upulehu, you can still visit the area's beautiful white-sand beaches, thanks to shoreline public access laws. A mile-long coastal footpath winds through reddish lava and brackish water, where turtles can be seen, and a string of pristine, easily accessible little coves lies further south. Showers, rest rooms and drinking water are available.
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Kahalu'u Bay
Kahalu'u Bay is an easy-access snorkeling spot and a giant natural aquarium loaded with rainbow parrotfish, silver needlefish, brilliant yellow tangs and Moorish idol. At high tide green sea turtles often swim into the bay to feed or rest on the beach. They're endangered, so give them space. According to legend an ancient breakwater was built on the reef by the menehune (Hawai'i's mythical race of little people) and protects the bay.
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Kapa'a Beach Park
This relatively unused beach park affords access to clear waters and great snorkeling if you venture past the rocky shore. The views of Maui can be spectacular. The park itself is mostly parking lot, with only a falling-apart wooden picnic pavilion and portable toilets. You will need a county permit to camp, but the beach is rocky and the ground uneven. There is only one really choice spot with a picnic table near the water.
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Kauna'oa Bay (aka Mauna Kea Beach)
Kauna'oa Bay (aka 'Mauna Kea Beach') might be the most visually stunning beach on the Big Island. The crescent-shaped cove has fine white sand and a gradual slope that fosters excellent swimming conditions most of the year. On the north end, snorkeling conditions are good during calm waters.
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Keauhou Bay
Keauhou Bay has a launch ramp and a small boat harbor, and is one of the most protected on the west coast. It has a small grassy area, a couple of palm-shaded picnic tables, showers and rest rooms. Two sand volleyball courts stand between the headquarters of the local outrigger canoe club and the lapping bay. Against the hillside, just south of the dive shacks, a plaque marks the site where Kamehameha III was born in 1814.
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Mahai'ula Beach
Mahai'ula Beach has salt-and-pepper sand, along with coral rubble, and the inshore waters are shallow. Snorkeling and swimming are usually good, but, during periods of high surf, which are frequent in winter, surfing is the sport of choice. There are picnic tables and portable toilets. The road to Mahai'ula Beach is unpaved and barely passable in a 2WD. From the first parking area, take a five-minute walk north.
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Mahukona Beach Park
Mahukona Beach Park has a rather ratty oceanfront picnic area and an abandoned landing. Once a key port for the Kohala Sugar Company, the landing was connected to sugar mills by rail. Today locals fish off it and use its ladder to get in and out of the water to swim or spearfish. Despite the name, there is no beach here.
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Manini'owali (Kua Bay)
Manini'owali (Kua Bay) is idyllic, with crescent-shaped white sands and turquoise waters. Due to its easy access, Manini'owali packs on weekends. Most of the year, the conditions are suited to swimmers, but in winter the waves kick up for bodyboarders and bodysurfers and the storms can generate currents that temporarily strip the beach of sand. There are bathrooms and showers and picnic tables, but very little vegetation or shade.
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Mau'umae Beach
Just north of Mauna Kea Beach is delightful Mau'umae Beach, with soft white sand, shady trees and protected waters. Locals are proprietary about this beach, so don't overstep your welcome. To get here, go toward the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, turn right on Kamahoi and cross two wooden bridges. Look for telephone pole 22 on the left and park. Walk down the trail to the Ala Kahakai sign and turn left toward the beach.
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Pine Trees Surfing Break
Pine Trees Surfing Break, one of west Hawai'i's best, is just south of Nelha. Why Pine Trees? Early surfers spied mangrove trees near the break, which they thought were pines. No mangroves (or pines) are visible today, but the name stuck. The break is along a long, pretty, rocky beach that makes swimming difficult. Gates are closed between and .
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Punalu'u Beach Park
Punalu'u Beach Park provides easy access to a pretty little bay with a black-sand beach famous for basking green sea turtles. The turtles are both endangered and very sensitive to human disturbance - don't approach them. Punalu'u is one of the few beaches where rare hawksbill turtles lay their eggs, so take caution not to disturb their sandy nests.
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White Sands Beach Park
White Sands Beach Park is a mini-paradise with crystal turquoise waters and shady palms. Its ability to lose its sand literally overnight during high winter surf has earned it nicknames such as Magic Sands and Disappearing Sands. When its rocks and coral are exposed, the beach becomes too treacherous for most swimmers. Gradually the sand magically returns, transforming the shore back into its former beachy self.
Showing 1-17 of 17 results
