I'm introducing a new feature that will be a regular fixture on Hawaiirama. John Clark, the noted Hawaii beach expert and all around beach nut, will be feeding us his extremely informed take on best beaches around the Aloha State. We're breaking them down into all different categories, shapes and sizes. We're starting off with the Top 3 Walking Beaches on Maui. If you've been on these beaches and want to comment, by all means, chime in. Also, feel free to submit your candids taken from these beaches to our Flickr photo pool. We're still building it (guilty -- I have not uploaded enough pics there yet). At any rate, if you like what John tells you here, buy his books at the University of Hawaii Press for a much more in-depth look at Hawaii beaches. Mahalo for reading!

* Kaanapali Beach – “The beach is split in two by Black Rock, a lava bluff right next to the Sheraton Maui. Each side is about a mile long and totally walkable. This is one of the most active beaches on Maui so it’s great for taking in the scene. You can see sailing, windsurfing, surfing, and even parasailing, not to mention professional sun bathing at “Dig Me” beach. In the late afternoons, near Canoe Beach, you can see outrigger canoe teams practicing. All along the walk you have great views of Lanai and Molokai. There are a few places where you can walk right off the beach and have a drink with your toes in the sand -- Hula Grill and Leilani's near the Whalers Village Shopping Center. And during the winter months you can often spot spouts from humpback whales off shore."

* Makena Beach -- "The name means "big" in Hawaiian. And it is a really long beach that seems even longer because there are no hotels. So Makena seems to run off into the horizon on the eastern end and out into the sky. You can look across the channel and see the small horseshoe-shaped islet of Molokini and the bigger island, Kahoolawe, just beyond that. It’s as close to Kahoolawe, which was once a bombing range and is now uninhabited, as you can get from the shore. What's nice out there is the isolation. Makena State Park is undeveloped so it’s pretty much the ocean, the beach and undeveloped back shore. There are kiawe trees on the edge of the beach so you have to watch for thorns. Makena has really clean, clear water so the waves breaking on the shore seem a little more clear and pristine. All told, it’s about a mile long.”

* Wailea – "The Wailea Resort complex has five beaches. They are all joined by a walking path that’s convenient and easy to use. You can walk across from one beach to another quite easily and walk the entire shoreline of the resort in a long stroll that runs just under 2 miles. It's a really different perspective. You are walking through a resort and so you see the huge pools and the dolphin statues at the Gran Wailea. Each one of the Wailea beaches has strong surf and a shallow sandbar with breaking waves. There is lots of good bodysurfing and boardboarding when the surf is up. All five of the beaches are good for winter whale watching. The sand on these beaches is super soft, almost powdery. It feels really nice underfoot. Afternoons can get pretty windy as the wind blows across the Isthmus from the direction of Ma’alaea. It’s generally calmer in the mornings."

Related Links: Other Great Beaches

—Alex, 09/05/06