Hawaii Beaches: Untouched Oahu Gem -- Kawela Bay
Where: Oahu || Grouped in: Oahu Nature, Oahu Romance || Tagged:
I almost hate telling people about this spot. It's so perfect, and its right on Oahu. Kawela Bay is one of the last semi-secret beaches on this most populous of Hawaiian Islands. "Magnum P.I." and "Lost" have both filed scenes there, and with good reason. On a weekday, you may share the beach with two or three other people. It's a long, sandy crescent shaded by ironwood trees with calm waters protected by an outer reef that is an underground surfing destination. The western end of the beach has the best swimming and snorkeling here in the summer months, when waves are calm, is usually pretty good.
I've generally walked in to Kawela Bay accessing the trailhead at the Turtle Bay Resort. The resort has lots of free parking for beach users and the trail is well maintained -- the concierge will give you a map. You'll pass another idyllic but much rougher beach on the way in. Kawela is probably one of my top picks for romantic beaches in the whole of Hawaii -- not just Oahu. Don't miss it if you are cruising the North Shore or driving around the island in search of an idyllic picni destination.
Related Posts: Turtle Bay Resort
Map to Turtle Bay Resort, Kawela Bay Flickr Pics
Image via FunJet
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Comments
Kalua Pakohana said:
Hawaii has lost so much of her beauty because of commercialism. I was raised in Kawela Bay and if you really felt like it was a very private place than why did you write about it? I think we locals need to preserve our “secrets” since we don’t have that many thanks to tourism and so called progress.
—03/29/07
Alex said:
I disagree with your sentiments about preserving our secrets.When we travel to other parts of the world, we expect others to share their secrets with us as long as we are not doing any harm. I expect the same here. I am not in favor of hotels on Kawela Bay at all or further development. However, I think its wonderful that we can share some of the more beautiful places with our friends. Last time I checked, Kawela was still quite uncrowded. Thanks for writing in!
—03/29/07
Bobby said:
Kawela Bay is an absolutely beautiful place. I have been fortunate enough to stay at a home within the Kawela confines on several occasions. One of the most spectacular stretches of beach in the state. It is not an easy place to get to so I am not to worried about it being taken over. The weekedns we were there we saw maybe 8 people max in the bay. Hopefully we can prolong or stop this planned development.
—11/15/07