Kauai’s Many Spectacular Beaches

The oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai – the Garden Isle, has some of the best beaches in the state. Every beach in Hawaii is affected by the different seasons so always use caution when exploring an unfamiliar area. The typical rule of thumb is that during the summer months the North shore is typically calm, whereas the South shore can have a bit more surf. The East shore and West shores are always unpredictable, so make sure you ask before you wander into the ocean.

WEST SHORE – home to the most western point on the island where you can always watch the sunset into the ocean, Polihale Beach is a fabulous sunset viewing beach and one of my favorite places to find Puka shells. DO NOT enter the water here – it is super dangerous. But a visit to Kauai is well worth the drive out through the cane fields on dirt roads that can be accessed by SUV’s most of the time, and standard car rentals not often at all. This beach is 17 miles long and the sand dunes along this stretch can reach up to 100 feet high! This beach is not the typical tropical destination as there are NO trees for shade so I suggest going after the heat of the day.

Useful Information:

  • Restrooms
  • Showers
  • Picnic tables
  • Great views of Na Pali Coast
  • Awesome sand dunes
  • One of the best views for sunsets
  • Poor swimming
  • No lifeguard
  • Rough dirt road access only

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 50 from Waimea west, all the way to the end of the paved road. Continue on the dirt/sand road. The first turn on the left leads to Barking Sands Beach. If you continue to go straight you will come to Polihale. The State Park is at the north end of the beach. Queen’s Pond is at the south end of the beach.

SOUTH SHORE – from Kekaha to Poipu, this is the “sunny” side of the island. In Waimea annual rainfall is just a few inches a year. Beaches here are flat and easy to access, but unless protected they can be a bit more dangerous as they are open to the ocean and not protected by bays. Therefore I start my first choice with an historic beach that is protected and is one of my top picks for Keiki’s.

Salt Pond Beach Park is home to Hawaii’s only natural salt pond that was used by the ancient Hawaiians of yesteryear. Please do not enter the salt pond area, which is visible from the road and beach. The beach though is open to the public, and for windsurfers it is one of the best places to play at. Swimming is usually safe in this protected cove, snorkelers have two reefs to explore at either end of the pond, and when the tide is low there are tide pools to explore. In fact, it is here that my kids swam with a monk seal and sea turtles! This was a thrill for all the keiki’s!

The park has bathrooms, showers, and covered picnic tables on a perfect crescent of white sand shaded by palm trees.

Useful Information:

  • Usually calm water all year
  • Good swimming, snorkeling, body boarding and windsurfing
  • Great kid beach
  • Restrooms
  • Showers
  • Picnic area with pavilions and grills
  • White sand beach, shady area and grass
  • Camping available with permit
  • Salt is panned during the summer months by native Hawaiians

DIRECTIONS: Take Highway 50 west from Kalaheo toward Hanapepe. Just past Mile Marker #17, turn left on Lele and right on Lokokai Road to the beach park.

Poipu Beach Park – Voted top beach in Hawaii by Dr. Beach. This beach really has it all, and lately has been home to numerous endangered monk seals and their pups. On the far right side of the beach, during low tide, a sandbar will occur which is an unusual phenomena that is the result of multiple currents rushing towards the beach from opposite directions which form a tombolo. This is really the best and biggest beach in Poipu.

Useful Information:

  • Great, safe swimming on the left of the beach
  • Good snorkeling around the right side of the point
  • Sandy, white beach with some rocks
  • Grass and shade areas
  • Restrooms
  • Showers
  • Picnic facilities
  • Lifeguards

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 50 from Hanapepe toward Lawa'i. Just past Mile Marker #11 turn right on Koloa Road (Highway 530). Continue to Po'ipu Road and turn right again. The road forks near the ocean, take the left fork. Just past the Po'ipu Shopping Center on the left, take Hoowili Road to the right and follow it to the beach parking lot.

Shipwreck Beach – I go only for the hiking on the lithified sand dunes – it is by far one of my favorite places to hike along the beach – as long as you go in the morning or late afternoon after the heat of the day has past. If you venture out far enough you will actually see the remains of an ancient heiau. This beach fronts the Grand Hyatt, but only experienced surfers and boogie boards should enter the water as it is rough and surrounded by large lava rocks and outcroppings.

Useful Information:

  • Poor swimming most of the time
  • Good surfing
  • Great hiking
  • Wonderful cliffs with unusual natural formations
  • No lifeguard
  • No facilities

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 50 from Hanapepe toward Lawa'i. Just past Mile Marker #11 turn right on Koloa Road (Highway 530). Continue to Po'ipu Road and turn right again. The road forks near the ocean, take the left fork. The beach fronts the Hyatt Hotel. Access is via the public access walkway between the Hyatt and Po'ipu Bay Resort Golf Course.

EAST SHORE – from Kalapaki Bay to Anahola, this stretch of ocean has some wonderful beaches to explore and is the best place to watch the sunrise! One of the best beaches on this side of the island is beautiful crescent shaped Kalapaki Beach, which fronts the Marriott Kauai Beach Resort. The waters here are almost always calm as it is protected by Nawiliwili Harbor, and beginning surf lessons are good because you won’t be learning on a reef break! This beach has so much to offer, beach front dining, boat rentals, boogie boarding, shopping – it reminds me a lot of Kaanapali Beach with its multitude of activities yet there is only ONE resort on the beach.

Useful Information:

  • Lovely sand beach
  • Good swimming, bodysurfing, windsurfing, boogie boarding and beginning surfing
  • Popular picnic area located at the adjacent Nawilwili Park
  • Facilities located near the Anchor Cove Shopping Center
  • Sailboat and surf lessons, catamaran and kayak tours available nearby

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 50 to Highway 56 into Lihu'e. Turn right on Rice Road at Mile Marker #0. Access to the beach is from the Anchor Cove Shopping Center or through the Kauai Marriott Resort.

Lydgate Park is by far truly one of the best places to take young children. It is protected by a gigantic manmade lava rock break wall that keeps rough waves and dangerous currents at bay, yet allows for fish to come in and out at will so it is great for snorkeling. Therefore, this beach is calm and perfect year round!

Useful Information:

  • Lifeguard
  • Showers
  • Restrooms
  • Long, sandy white beach
  • Safe, good swimming
  • Two, large boulder enclosed pools
  • Playground
  • Picnic facilities
  • Shade trees and grassy areas

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 56 north toward Wailua. At Mile Marker #5 turn right on Leho Drive. Take the second right to the beach parking lot.

NORTH SHORE – this side of the island is jam packed full of white sandy idyllic Hawaiian beaches that literally stretch for miles. They are so numerous to count so I have included just the top ones that most visitors will want to visit and/or have time to visit.

Kalihiwai Beach is a fabulous little beach that has good swimming from June – October, the rest of the year this beach is off limits except for good surfers. What is nice about this beach is that the surf is typically calm yet there will be big enough waves for beginner boogie boarders and then the river has a great tree swing that the kids like to sail off of, and the cool fresh water feels great on warm summer days.

Useful Information:

  • Sandy beach
  • Shade and grass areas
  • Good swimming during the summer
  • Surfing in winter
  • No facilities
  • No lifeguards
  • Kalihiwai Stream divides beach

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 56 west from Kilauea toward Princeville. Turn right on Kalihiwai Road just before Mile Marker # 24. Parking is located near the end of the road.

Anini Beach – is protected by the largest reef in the Hawaiian Islands. This is the only north shore beach where you can swim year round. For me I like coming here to pick shells, it is also great year round for windsurfing. There is an outer reef you can swim to and snorkel but there are better snorkeling spots on the island. This is a perfect beach for the keikis year round!

Useful Information:

  • Great swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and windsurfing during the summer months
  • Longest reef in Hawaii offshore
  • Sand and shady Kamani Trees
  • Showers
  • Restrooms
  • Campsites
  • No lifeguard

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 56 past Kilauea. Cross over the Kalihiwai Bridge and then take a right on Kalihiwai Road (the SECOND road with this name). Then take a left on 'Anini Road and follow it to the beach.

Hideaways Beach is one of my favorite places to snorkel, only from June to October, and then during the winter/spring months it is a great place to watch surfers and whales. The view to Hideaways from Princeville is utterly gorgeous as the multi shades of blue and green are really mesmerizing. This beach is the ultimate “hidden” gem as the hike down can be a bit gnarly.

Useful Information:

  • Coarse white sand
  • Good swimming and snorkeling in the summer and when surf is calm
  • Some shade trees
  • No facilities
  • No lifeguards
  • 10 minute hike from parking area to beach

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 56 west to Princeville. Turn right on Ka Haku Road. Go to the end of the road. Just before the Princeville Hotel gatehouse is a path to Hideaways Beach. The first portion of the path is a staircase. The second half is a trail. Total hiking time is approximately 10 minutes.

Pu’u Poa Beach is what the locals affectionately call the small crescent white sand beach that is in Hanalei Bay but is divided by the river. This reef protected beach is typically calm year round and has awesome views of the best surfing spots on the island. In the summertime when the ocean is calm you can actually snorkel from this beach to Hideaways, but still you must be a good swimmer to do this.

Useful Information:

  • Sandy beach
  • Shade trees
  • Seasonal swimming
  • Expert surfing during the winter months
  • No lifeguard

DIRECTIONS:
Take highway 56 to Ka Haku Road. Turn right and go to the very end of the road. Pu'u Poa Beach is at the end of the 191 step staircase!

Hanalei Beach – to me is probably the most gorgeous of all beaches on Kauai. Not only is this perfectly fringed white sand beach two miles long, one way, the surrounding mountains with cascading waterfalls hug the bay and from every vantage point the view is just simply breathtaking. In the summer you will see kite surfers, beginner surfers, swimmers, kayakers, outrigger canoe training and gorgeous sailboats in the calm crystal clear waters. Then during the winter months you will find the best of the best riding the infamous waves and breaks that come about when the big northerly swells hit the bay. Year round you can swim at or near the pier as this area is protected more from the outer reefs, the westerly part of the bay has bigger surf along the shore.

Useful Information:

  • Long, sandy beach
  • Lifeguard
  • Restrooms
  • Showers
  • Grass and shady areas
  • Picnic facilities and pavilions
  • Summer swimming, except by the pier which is typically good year round
  • Good surfing and boogie boarding

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 560 west toward Hanalei from Princeville. Turn right on Aku. This road ends at Weke Road. Go right to Hanalei Beach Park to the Pavilions or Pier.

Tunnels Beach – without a doubt this is known as the “superb” snorkel spot on the north shore. You can see an abundant amount of sea life here that it is mind boggling. This is also the only shore diving spot on the island. The reef, which starts at the shoreline and has deep caverns, actually goes out about ¼ of a mile from the shoreline, which allows for the huge variety of sea life.

Useful Information:

  • No lifeguards
  • No facilities
  • Good swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving during the calm summer months
  • Good surfing and windsurfing
  • 2-mile long white sand beach
  • Offshore caverns and large reef near shore
  • Great place to view the sunset

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 560 east from Hanalei toward Ha'ena. Two short dirt roads, just past Mile Marker #8, lead to the parking area for the beach, if you are not here by 7:30AM you are too late. It is best to go to Haena Park and walk about 200 yards to the entrance for snorkeling.

Ke’e Beach is the most visited beach because it literally is at the end of the road and at the beginning of the famous Kalalau Trail. The backdrop of this magical cove is jaw dropping. Set against black lava, with cascading coconut palms, fringed by a perfect white crescent beach with a sublime turquoise green lagoon protected by an outer reef. You can actually walk from Ke’e beach all the way past Tunnels – this is one of my favorite beach walks, I have seen pods of spinner dolphins, almost walked into monk seals, and when you swim to the outer reef (on a completely calm day) you will snorkel with green sea turtles! This is my favorite beach in all of Hawaii!

In fact, the ancient Hawaiians thought this area so special that above the rocky point is the Hula Heiau, Ka Ulu a Paoa Heiau, which is a religious site, dedicated to Paoa, a friend of legendary Lohiau, lover of Pele, the goddess of fire. There is also a shrine to Laka, goddess of Hula located in a hillside cleft behind the heiau platform. And still to this day on special occasions hula halou’s will perform for Laka. The view from here, if you can find it, is pretty awesome.

As you walk towards Tunnels beach and a short distance from Ke’e the beach extends out to the north to provide a great view of the Na Pali Coast. If you continue on this walk towards Limahuli Stream up in the jungle is where Elizabeth Taylor’s brother founded Taylor Camp, a hippie commune during the ‘60’s, which had about 100 residents for a little less than a decade.

Useful Information:

  • Sandy lagoon
  • Good swimming and snorkeling in calm summer months
  • Great snorkeling and scuba diving on offshore reef
  • Good shore fishing near the reef channel
  • Trailhead for the Kalalau Trail
  • Restrooms
  • Picnic facilities
  • Scenic and historic sites

DIRECTIONS:
Take Highway 560 east past Ha'ena all the way to the end of the road.