Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fect for kids, and offer some snorkeling opportunities around the boulders at the entrance to
the lagoons. Two lagoons have restrooms, and plenty of public parking is on-hand. Located of
H-1 in Kapolei, Ko Olina has no local bus service; the closest bus stop is on Farrington High-
way, more than 4 miles away.
MAKAHA BEACH PARK
When surf's up here, it's spectacular: Huge waves pound the beach from October through
April. This is the original home of Hawaii's big-wave surfing championship; surfers today
know it as the home of Buffalo's Big Board Surf Classic, where surfers ride the waves on
old-Hawaiian-style 10-foot-long wooden boards. Nearly a mile long, the half-moon gold-sand
beach is tucked between 231-foot Lahilahi Point, which locals call Black Rock, and Kepuhi
Point, a toe of the Waianae mountain range. Summer is the best time to hit this beach—the
waves are small, the sand abundant, and the water safe for swimming. Children hug the shore
on the north side of the beach, near the lifeguard stand, while surfers dodge the rocks and
divers seek an offshore channel full of big fish.
Note:
This is a “local” beach; you're welcome,
of course, but you can expect “stink eye” (mild approbation) if you are not respectful of the
beach and the local residents who use the facility all the time.
Facilities include restrooms, lifeguards, and parking. To get here, take the H-1 freeway to
the end of the line, where it becomes Farrington Highway (Hwy. 93), and follow it to the
beach; or you can take TheBus no. 40/40A.
YOKOHAMA BAY
★
Where Farrington Highway (Hwy. 93) ends, the wilderness of Kaena Point State Park begins.
It's a remote 853-acre coastline park of empty beaches, sand dunes, cliffs, and deep-blue water.
This is the last sandy stretch of shore on the northwest coast of Oahu. Sometimes it's known
as Keawalua Beach or Puau Beach, but everybody here calls it Yokohama, after the Japanese
immigrants who came from that port city to work the cane fields and fish along this shoreline.
When the surf's calm—mainly in summer—this is a good area for snorkeling, diving, swim-
ming, shore fishing, and picnicking. When surf's up, board and bodysurfers are out in droves;
don't go in the water then unless you're an expert. No lifeguards or facilities are available, ex-
cept at the park entrance, where a restroom and lifeguard stand are positioned. No bus serves
the park.
