Keawa'ula Beach

Top choice

Some say this is the best sunset spot on the island. It certainly has the right west-facing orientation and a blissfully scenic mile-long sandy beach. You’ll find restrooms and showers (but no drinking water) at the park’s southern end. Swimming is limited to the summer and then only when calm. When the water’s flat, it’s also possible to snorkel. Annoying winds are usually blocked by the surrounding hills.

Winter brings huge, pounding waves. Yokohama is a popular seasonal surfing and bodysurfing spot that’s best left to the experts, due to submerged rocks, strong rips and a dangerous shorebreak.

Contact

Address

Farrington Hwy (Hwy 930). Kaʻena Point State Park

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Bishop Museum
28.1 MILES
Hawaii’s version of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, the Bishop Museum showcases a remarkable array of cultural and natural history exhibits…
ʻIolani Palace
29.76 MILES
No other place evokes a more poignant sense of Hawaii’s history. The palace was built under King David Kalakaua in 1882. At that time, the Hawaiian…
USS Arizona Memorial
22.64 MILES
This somber memorial is one of the USA's most significant WWII sites, commemorating the Pearl Harbor attack and its fallen service members with an iconic…
Pearl Harbor National Memorial
23.15 MILES
One of the USA’s most significant WWII sites, this National Park Service (NPS) monument narrates the history of the Pearl Harbor attack and commemorates…
Pupukea Beach Park
13.41 MILES
With deep-blue waters, a varied coastline and a mix of lava and white sand, Pupukea, meaning ‘White Shell,’ is a very scenic stretch. The long beach…
Capitol Modern
29.7 MILES
With its vibrant, thought-provoking collections, this public art museum brings together traditional and contemporary art from Hawaii’s multiethnic…
Waimea Bay Beach Park
13.1 MILES
It may be a beauty, but it’s certainly a moody one. Waimea Bay changes dramatically with the seasons: it can be tranquil and flat as a lake in summer,…
Foster Botanical Garden
29.39 MILES
Tropical plants you’ve only ever read about can be spotted in all their glory at this spectacular botanic garden, which took root in 1850. Among its…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Kaʻena Point State Park

0.59 MILES

White-sand beaches and aqua-blue waters are the highlights of this somewhat-desolate state park that has a literal end-of-the-road feel. Car-parking areas…

2. Makua Beach

1.25 MILES

Way back in the day, this beach was a canoe-landing site for interisland travelers. In the late ‘60s it was used as the backdrop for the movie Hawaii…

3. Makua Valley

2.14 MILES

The virescent Makua Valley is wide and grassy near the shore and narrows into a fan of sharply fluted mountains. It's used as a training area for the…

4. Kaneana Cave

2.16 MILES

The waves that created this giant stone amphitheater receded long ago. Now the highway passes right outside the cave, about 3 miles north of Makaha Beach…

5. Kaʻena Point

3.02 MILES

The westernmost point on Oʻahu is reached by 2.5-mile-long trails from the south and east. Waves up to 50ft break here in winter. It's a desolate spot…

6. Army Beach

3.12 MILES

Opposite the western end of Dillingham Airfield, this is the widest stretch of sand on the Mokuleʻia shore, although it’s not maintained and there are no…

7. Dillingham Airfield

3.56 MILES

Operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation under a 25-year lease from the US Army, Dillingham Airfield is mainly used for general aviation,…

8. Mokuleʻia Beach Park

3.98 MILES

The beach itself is a nice sandy stretch, but the rocky seabed makes for poor swimming. When waters are calm and flat in summer, snorkelers swim out along…

View more attractions

placement: superzone
path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],

targeting:

{
  "url": "usa/hawaii/ka-ena-point-state-park/attractions/keawa-ula-beach/a/poi-sig/1302364/1333346",
  "position": "superzone"
}