Castle’s Beach is One for Families and Beginner Surfers
Smaller waves cater to families and beginner surfers here.
The turquoise waves at Castle’s Beach are exciting yet not intimidating or excessively dangerous to your kids. The waves and currents on the beaches past Turtle Bay were a little too unnerving to you as a vacationing parent. The car door shuts and your kids run out towards the beach. The breeze pushes the warm salty air into your lungs as you take a deep breath in.
This is the best spot to swim. The further north (left) you go, the more reef you’ll run into. Same with going to the right. Straight out from this spot is where people surf. Photo By Tanner VanValkenburg
Amenities available at this beach
First you grab your rented beach chairs and towel as you walk past the food truck and through the trees and camping cabins to the shore. You are happy with the convenience of bathrooms and showers to rinse off at. Your kids walk gingerly across the portion of the grass covered with tiny brown pinecone-like debris dropped by the trees above. You are happy you wore your sandals as you hear them crunch beneath your feet.
This is the view you will find if you park at the northernmost parking lot. The food truck to the right in this photo is Kama’aina Grinds. They offer Hawaiian plate lunches. Photo by Tanner VanValkenburg
Fun activities this beach offers
Your 8 year old immediately runs into the ocean with her boogie board as you set up your chairs on the beach. She is in up to her ribs when she turns around and pushes off the sand to catch some white wash. It pushes her far up the sand and leaves her stranded like a beached whale. She looks at you and laughs. She seemed to be thinking the same thing. Further out past the shore break there are three surfers and one of them seems to be giving instructions to some newer surfers. It turns out this was a group having a surf school lesson.
Bradley (my husband) leaves the water to go rinse off his board at a shower. Photo by Hailey Minton
Bradley rinses off at a beach shower while ke’ikis play in the trees. You can see some of the beach cabins available to rent in the background. Photo by Hailey Minton
You look to your left towards the north end of the beach and see a group of college students practicing their skim boarding on the optimally flat beach. Others in their group are occupied by a slack line they set up between two trees next to a few more young adults hanging out in their hammocks. Then you notice a surfer out in the distance wearing a snorkeling mask which strikes you amused.
A view of the northern portion of the beach. Don’t attempt to surf on the far left side of the beach over here. It is shallow and you are sure to get scraped up by the reef. Photo by Hailey Minton.
Later, you round up your kids and tell them you’re going to look for the stream you heard about that empties into the ocean just past the coral at the north end of the beach. You follow the path that goes over the reef to find the secluded outlet of a small stream. On the opposite side of the stream is a wood fence with a no trespassing sign. Two horses on the opposite side of the fence swish their tails back and forth as they graze. Eventually your kids are done admiring the horses, looking for crabs on the reef, and swinging on the rope swings back where your chairs were set up.
The fence that borders the beach on the north end borders private property. If you are lucky you can see their horses. Photo by Hailey Minton
You are sufficiently relaxed. You begin to pack up your things when the surfer with the mask walks out from the water on his way to rinse of his board at a shower on the way back to the parking lot. You ask him what he was looking for out there and he replies, “shells!” as he shows you a handful he found out there. The word “multitasking” pops into your head and you smile as you admire them.
Activities appropriate for this Beach:
Spear fishing
Slacklining
Setting up hammocks in trees
Skim boarding