Hawaii Polihale kauai Beach Guide

This 7-mile-long beach at the southwest end of the Na Pali Mountains is a boon to those who love deserted beaches and good waves. Getting here involves a trek over red-dirt tracks and dunes to one long beach break of waves. Best Boards: Shortboards. This chapter also includes a brief description of Fishermans, Rocket Reef, Barking Sands, Whispering Sands, Kini Kini, Hamburger Reef, Majors Bay, Rifle Range, Targets, Outside Left-Lefts, First Ditch, and Second Ditch.

Just past the Pacific Missile Range Facility gate on Highway 50, a sign posted by the Hawaii Visitors Bureau points to a dirt cane-hauling road angling off to the left. Follow the road for about five miles and you'll arrive at Polihale State Park. The park has a beautiful 3-mile long beach. However, the ocean here can be dangerous, with a severe shore break and rip currents.
A better bet is found at the 3.4 -mile mark along the cane road, where the road curves near a large monkeypod tree. Take the fork to the left and park almost immediately. Walk north along the beach until you come to a hollow in the coral. This is Queen's Pond. It's usually calm here except when high winter surf comes over the reef.

Things To Do

* Swimming
* Surfing
* Bodyboarding
* Fishing
* Paddling
* Beach walks
* Family days

Cool Because

Hawaii's biggest gold-sand beach with amazing sunsets over Ni‘ihau island.
Hazards

Extremely strong currents. Dangerous shorebreak. Patchy sharp coral. Remote location. No rescue support due to remote location.
Topography

Long, wide sandy beach. Mostly sand underwater with reef patches.
Not Good For

Snorkeling - areas with sand bottom are not good for snorkeling because there is no reef to support a variety of fish.

The last beach on the road, this is Kauai's westernmost point. It is an extension of Barking Sands Beach making it Hawaii's longest beach with 17 miles of sparking white sand! From the northern end of the beach, the beginning cliffs of the Na Pali can be seen.

The sand dunes along this beach can reach up to 100-feet in height. The entire beach is unprotected from the ocean so surf and currents can be fierce here. On the northern end of the beach is Polihale State Park.

One area on the 300-foot wide beach is safe for swimming and that is Queen's Pond, a small, encircled reef area. It is located on the south part of Polihale Beach going towards Barking Sands Beach.