Hukilau Beach has smaller waves and grassy areas for yoga

Hukilau Beach is known for being a family friendly beach with lots of sand. There are flat grassy spots that overlook the ocean that are prime for doing yoga. Trees here are ideally spaced for slacklinging and setting up hammocks.  The shore break can be fun and manageable for kids. The right side of the beach will have bigger waves than the left side if you are walking to the beach from the parking lot.

Unique features of this beach

There are several grassy flat spots that overlook the ocean which makes for an ideal yoga location. These spots could accommodate a small group in each spot.  There is plenty of grass in the rest of the park but you don’t get the same ocean view. This is an ideal beach to watch the sunrise so be sure to schedule a yoga session.

This is one of the spots on the northern end of the grassy area. Photo by Tanner VanValkenburg.

There is a tree with boards nailed together to form a platform into the upper branches. Planks nailed into the tree form a ladder to it. Know that you climb at your own risk. You can set up hammocks in other trees and there are a few places you can set up a slackline as well.

Tanner climbing the tree with a platform at the top. Boards have been nailed into the tree to create a ladder up to the top. Photo by Hailey Minton

Snorkeling is ok here. You will likely see fish if you go to the right or the left side of the beach where the reef is, but there aren’t a whole lot of interesting reef formations close to shore. If you do snorkel here, swim out past where the waves break so you get clearer visibility. People who go spear fishing here are usually successful, especially when they go at night. The fish are more docile then and they easier to spear.

There are a few regular kite surfers who use the bay. This beach is consistently windy. My friend Jayden who is a regular there said it is not an easy beach to learn at though.

Also, this beach can be a perfect place to dance with fire poi. The shore is flatter and bigger than other nearby beaches

Amenities available

The beach is equipped with showers for rinsing off. But you might want to know if there are bathrooms at Hukilau too. There are no public restrooms in this beach park but there are bathrooms at the Malaekahana beach park which is just north of Hukilau. You can easily walk to them from the beach. Walk north along the shore and past the river that sometimes breaks through and empties into the ocean. You will see trails that lead out to the beach along this stretch between the river and point that takes you around the corner out of sight of Hukilau beach. Take any of these trails and you’ll see campsites. There are several bathrooms located throughout these campsites.

This is one of two showers available at Hukilau. Photo by Tanner VanValkenburg

There is a designated parking lot for the beach. Note that they lock the gates at night. If the the parking lot is full, you can park at Laie park which is a five minute walk away. Head west down Naniloa loop which is the road just across the street from the beach. Go around the roundabout until you hit Poohaili street and you will see the park on your left after driving a block.

Food options

If you come to the beach on a weekend, stop by Ken’s Fish. They have a tent set up outside a green little building on the west side of the highway just north of Hukilau. Keep in mind, they only sell it on the weekends. My absolute favorite is their katsu style mahi mahi. Spicy poke used to be my favorite until I branched out. 

Jim Cook and Ken. Photo by Hailey Minton

Hukilau Cafe is a good stop for Hawaiian local comfort food. Get their loco moco here if you never have tried it.

Dangers

There aren’t any abnormal dangers about this beach park. I occasionally see little blue jellyfish washed up on shore. I have never personally seen any sharks at this beach but I hear stories from friends out surfing at Goats Island who have seen small sharks out there. It is a pretty far paddle out to get there. The water can get dirty if there has been a lot of rain and the river breaks through the sand.