Hapuna Beach is a great beach! Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area - Hawaii
Written: Oct 11 '07
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Pros: Postcard perfect beach, Not crowded, Snack bar & bathrooms, Picnic facilities
Cons: What more do you want?
The Bottom Line: Hapuna Beach has been voted as one of America's best beaches for a reason - get there and find out why!
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| jps246's Full Review: Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area |
Voted one of the best beaches in the country, Hapuna Beach, located in Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area on the big island of Hawaii is one place you cannot miss if you are visiting. Looking almost like a post card from the parking lot, Hapuna Beach is basically the ‘Hawaiian beach’ that people have in their mind when thinking about Hawaii.
How do I get there?
Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area is off of Route 19 about 30 miles north of Kailua-Kona and just south of Kawaihae on the island of Hawa There’s a sign for the park on Route 19 and a short access road leads to the parking lots for the beach. The parking is free and there are enough spaces that I don’t think you’d have a problem parking at any point. There are also handicapped spaces available down by the beach (you have to walk down from these upper parking lots).
What’s there?
Up by the parking lots there’s a small snack bar that serves drinks and some basic snack food. On the slope down to the beach, there are several different covered picnic areas where you can relax and enjoy the view of the beach. Down along the shore there is a larger pavilion that has some built-in grills where you can bbq or just relax in the shade of the pavilion. There are also bathrooms along with showers to get that salt water off of you.
You came for the beach though!
You won’t be disappointed. Hapuna Beach is wide, gentle and composed of sparkling white sand. It runs about a half of a mile from a series of rocks in the south (where you can snorkel and find some coral further out) to some rocks in the north. The water is blue when you look down, but if you are snorkeling, it’s crystal clear as you explore the sea.
There are life guards on duty at times at Hapuna Beach, but the beach is open whether or not a lifeguard is on duty.
The beach is somewhat protected by the rocky headlands at either end of the beach and the waves, especially during the summer months are quite calm. However, the waves can and do get bigger and there are warnings about swimming when the waves do. When we were there the waves were generally pretty calm and getting in and out of the water was easy, as was swimming along once you were beyond the shore.
There’s really no shade on the beach, which is quite wide along most of its length. The only shade is in the pavilion, the picnic areas or in the wooded area between the parking lot and the beach.
Experiences
We were staying south of Hapuna Beach and the guidebook we had recommended the beach so we stopped on one of our trips around the area. We didn’t have our swim suits with us at that point so we just took in the view, checked out the beach and then promised ourselves we’d be back.
We came back the next day and spent several hours enjoying the beach and the water. We went swimming and snorkeling and spent some time relaxing on the beach too. It was a wonderful time. The waves weren't too big when we were there. It was easy to make it past the surf, to swim around and to easily snorkel around the area.
Even though the parking lot seemed kind of full – the beach is large enough that everyone spreads out – we didn’t feel crowded at all. When we were there the day before, there were even more cars, but the beach didn’t look any more crowded than when we were there.
It really was a postcard perfect kind of place. The palm trees blowing in the wind, the wide sandy beach, the blue ocean – I could have stayed there all day.
Other things
If you want to camp near the ocean, the Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area has several A-frame shelters than can hold four people. The single-room shelters have sleeping platforms and a picnic table inside and there is a central pavilion with a refrigerator and stove along with restrooms that have showers.
In the woods between the parking areas and the shore you’ll also find a population of wild cats. Much like the wild cat population further south in the Waikoloa area, these cats are descendants of house cats that escaped from the first white settlers homes. They seem to congregate in the wooded areas along the shore. During the daytime they seem to mostly nap and relax in the woods, but as dusk comes they come out exploring and seeing if they can find some food.
Final Thoughts
I really liked Hapuna Beach and the surrounding recreation area and as someone coming from Massachusetts where you have to pay to use just about any beach, it was a surprising change to find out that public beaches in Hawaii are free to park at and use.
Not only was it free, but the beach was literally perfect. The sand is white and easy to walk in, the water is clean and blue and the overall setting looks like it’s straight out of guide book.
I know I could have spent many more hours on the beach and in the water.
If I were back in the area, I would make sure that there was a stop at Hapuna Beach in my itinerary.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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