Vacation Rental in Princeville Kauai

and Kauai Travel Guide

©B.Pruitt 2009-2012

South Side Kauai Beaches

Kipu Kai Beach

Location: South of Hoary Head Ridge

Coordinates: N21° 54.69', W159° 23.36'  

Length: 0.7 miles

Facilities: None

 

The Ha‘upu Range or Hoary Head Ridge isolates Kipu Kai from Hule‘ia Stream and Lihu‘e to the north.  The land in the valley behind the Ha‘upu Range has been operated as a cattle ranch for many years.  The last owner of the land was John T. Waterhouse, who died in 1984.  He bequeathed the land to the state of Hawaii with the hope it would be used as a nature and wildlife preserve.  The bequest doesn't take effect however, until the end of the lifetimes of his nieces and nephew.  For now, all the land behind Kipu Kai Beach is private and the dirt road over the ridge is gated.

 

Boat tour companies occasionally institute tours departing from Nawiliwili Harbor, taking passengers around Kawai Point to Kipu Kai Beach.  Kipu Kai has four pockets of sand.  The longest pocket curves around at its eastern end to form a protected cove for swimming, snorkeling and anchoring boats.  Prevailing currents and the Trade winds sweep debris around this corner, making the beach an excellent place for beachcombing.  

 

Maha‘ulepu Beach   

Location: Two miles northeast of Po‘ipu

Length: 1.5 miles

 

East of Po'ipu, at the end of a cane haul road, is a mile and a half reach of beautiful and interesting shoreline called Maha‘ulepu Beach.  The coastline consists of three areas, Gillin's Beach, Kawailoa Bay and Ha‘ula Beach, which are described individually.  The area is noted for hosting a catalog of interesting geological features: lithified sand dunes, caves, wave-cut terraces, coral formations, sea cliffs and a small sea stack.  

 

Archaeological evidence indicates that the area was once well populated in the pre-contact era.  The fertile land of the inland valley in conjunction with the bountiful fishing grounds near shore would have made Maha‘ulepu an ideal area for habitation.  Grove Farm planted the land behind the sand dunes in sugar cane until they closed their Kauai sugar operations.  Attempts have been made at growing other agricultural products on the land.  The fate of undeveloped Maha‘ulepu now lies in the hands of its new owner, Steve Case, founder of AOL.

 

To find the beaches at Maha‘ulepu, drive past the Hyatt Regency and Poipu Bay Golf Course on a dirt road for 1.8 miles.  Turn right at the stop sign and follow the bumpy road to a gate.  The gate has a sign indicating it is open 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Likely, no one will be attending the gate and you may continue to the parking area for Gillin's Beach, seven tenths of a mile from the stop sign.  The road turns to the left at the parking area and leads to Kawailoa Bay and Ha‘ula Beach.

 

Gillin's Beach

Coordinates: N21° 53.33', W 159° 24.90'

Length: 0.4 miles

Facilities: None

 

From the parking area at Gillin's Beach, follow the path through a dense thicket of trees for a few yards to reach the shore.

 

Gillin's Beach was named for the long time engineering supervisor of the Grove Farm Company, the owners of the sugar plantation behind the beach.  Gillin was best known for supervising the construction of the Ha'upu Tunnel.  The half-mile-long, dirt-lined tunnel cuts through the ridge to provide direct access between the sugar cane fields north of the ridge and the Koloa Mill to the south.

 

Broken patches of beachrock protrude through the sand covering the crescent of Gillin's Beach.  Vegetated sand dunes back the beach as well as the original house built by Elbert Gillin in the 1920s.  Boogie boarding and windsurfing are popular recreational activities on this beach.

 

Kawailoa Bay

Coordinates: N21° 52.53', W159° 24.66'  

Length: 200 yards

Facilities: None

 

Follow the dirt road east from Gillin's Beach for three tenths of a mile to find Kawailoa Bay.  Often there are local families here for picnics and fishing.  The shoreline is covered with active and lithified sand dunes.  Waves have deeply undercut the sea cliffs below the dunes.  A small mushroom-shaped sea stack projects above a shallow reef next to the outer point.

 

Ha‘ula Beach

Coordinates: N21° 53.93', W159° 24.23'  

Length: 200 yards

Facilities: None

 

Follow the dirt road four tenths of a mile from Kawailoa Bay to the entrance to Ha‘ula Beach.  The trail to the beach takes about five minutes to walk and is marked by two metal posts that stop vehicle traffic.

 

The small pocket beach sits at the center of a large cove with a low, flat, rock shelf fronting the rest of the beach.  Behind the beach are the highest sand dunes on the south shore.  Adding to the rugged beauty of the area, waves have cut jagged edges, spires and caves into the lithified dunes and sea cliffs.  

The rocky offshore bottom and surf preclude swimming in the cove.  This shoreline is prized for its beauty and solitude.  The beach is occasionally visited by fishermen, trail riders from CJM Stables and Hawaiian monk seals looking for a quiet place to rest.

 

Shipwreck Beach

Location: In front of Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort

Coordinates: N21° 52.48', W159° 26.24'  

Length: 0.4 miles

Facilities: Lifeguard, showers, bathrooms

 

The wide sandy beach in front of the Hyatt Regency sees some of the island's best boogie boarding and body surfing conditions.  The best surf breaks are at the east end of the beach.  High surf and a pounding shorebreak make conditions difficult for novice ocean goers.

 

The shipwreck that gave the beach its name is long gone.  An unidentified wooden boat lay at the water's edge for many years, scavenged by people for firewood.  In 1982, Hurricane ‘Iwa ravaged the south coast of Kauai and destroyed the remains of the shipwreck.  The Hawaiian name of the beach is Keoneloa, which means "the long sands."  

 

The much-photographed Makawehi Point, a high bluff of lithified sand dunes, marks the eastern end of the beach.  Pole fishermen use the bluff, as do some reckless cliff divers.  Public access to the beach is at the end of Ainako Road, between the Hyatt Regency and the Poipu Bay Golf Course.  The road ends at a paved parking lot.  Public bathrooms and showers are located next to the parking lot.     

 

Brennecke Beach

Location: One tenth of a mile east of Po'ipu Beach

Coordinates: N21° 52.38', W159° 27.09'  

Length: 50 yards

Facilities: None

 

Brennecke Beach is just a small pocket of sand in a cove east of Po'ipu Beach.  It is a popular boogie boarding and body surfing site.  Long surfboards and boards with fins are not allowed here because of congestion from the large number of wave riding enthusiasts trying to use the small area.  The beach suffered severe damage from Hurricane Iniki.  Kauai County hired an engineering firm to restore the beach and protect it from further erosion.  They removed an old cement seawall, creating more beach area for recreation and improving the wave patterns so that sand now moves to the beach instead of being swept away.  A 250-foot-long revetment was constructed next to Ho‘one Road, which was threatened by beach erosion.  Several truckloads of sand were brought to the site to speed up the natural recovery.  

 

The beach's namesake, Dr. Marvin Brennecke, owned a home across the road from the sea wall.  Brennecke came to Kaua‘i in 1931 and worked as a plantation doctor on Kauai for 40 years.

 

Po'ipū Beach Park

Location: End of Ho‘owili Road, south of Po'ipu Road

Coordinates: N21° 52.40', W159° 27.27'  

Length: 0.2 miles

Facilities: Bathrooms, showers, picnic shelters, lifeguard, telephone, playground

 

Po'ipu Beach is the south shore's most popular beach for visitors.  A recent poll of readers of Hawaii magazine picked Po‘ipu Beach as Kauai's Best Beach and Hawaii's Best Kid's Beach.  When clouds and rain threaten elsewhere on Kauai, the most likely place for fair weather is the heart of the south shore, which has earned its moniker of "Sunny Poipu."  This is likely to be the island's busiest beach, especially on weekends and holidays when local families are enjoying their time off at the beach.

 

The beach is divided into two crescent-shaped coves by a spit of sand that carries out to a rocky islet called Nukumoi Point.  Wave action sweeping around both sides of the point deposits sand behind it creating the bridge to the main island. This phenomenon is called a tombolo and it occurs at only three places in Hawaii, all on Kauai.  The other two examples are at Kipu Kai Beach and at Crater Hill, near Kiiauea.  Poipu's tombolo is the only one readily accessible to the public.  At high tide, waves manage to just sweep over the sand.

 

Rocky breakwaters shelter the cove to the west of the tombolo creating a calm and safe swimming area.  Here is where families can bring their children to swim and ride boogie boards on the gently rolling waves.   The sandy offshore bottom deepens gradually to overhead depths.  On a calm day look closely into the water from the shore.  Someone has arranged large beach rocks in the shallow water to spell out the name of the beach.

 

The east side of the tombolo is less desirable for swimming but has some of the south shore's best snorkeling.  A small reef grows inside the breakwater, harboring many colorful fish waiting for handouts from visitors.  During high surf conditions, waves can sweep over the breakwater.  Don't swim past the breakwater as a rip current flows out to rough water.  

 

A large parking lot is directly behind the park and beach.  Turn south from Po'ipu Road onto Ho‘owili Road and drive another tenth of a mile.

 

Sheraton Beach

Location: In front of the Sheraton Kauai Resort

Coordinates: N21° 52.55', W159° 27.60'  

Length: 0.3 miles

Facilities: Showers belonging to the resorts

 

Also referred to as Wai‘ohai Beach or Poipu Beach, this lovely curve of sand is 150 yards west of a rocky point separating it from Po'ipu Beach Park.  Generally the water conditions here are favorable for swimming.  When a south swell brings in high surf, the beach is a popular place for surfing.  The beach is backed by the Sheraton resort on its west side and by the Outrigger and Castle Resorts to the east.  Public parking lots are situated north and east of the Sheraton.

 

Beach House Beach

Location: Next to Beach House restaurant on the road to Spouting Horn

Coordinates: N21° 52.90', W159° 28.56'  

Length: 100 feet

Facilities: None

 

Sunbathers should use this beach at low tide because at high tide this tiny, roadside beach nearly disappears.  During calm surf conditions, the offshore reef has good snorkeling and diving.  The beach is named after the Beach House restaurant next door.  Beach House Beach is next to Lawa‘i Road on the route to Spouting Horn blowhole.  A public parking lot is across the road.

 

Kukui‘ula Beach

Location: Off of Lawa‘i Road, at Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor

Coordinates: N21° 53.08', W159° 29.23'  

Length 100 yards

Facilities: Bathrooms, shower, picnic shelters, telephone

 

Kukui‘ula Small Boat Harbor is popular with recreational and commercial boaters alike.  At the back of the harbor is a sheltered, sandy beach.  The sand however, came from somewhere else.  One of the conditions imposed by Kauai County on the Kukui‘ula Development Co. before they could build a planned resort and residential development was to improve the beach at the harbor.  The company removed loose rocks, shoreline debris and scrub vegetation before nearly doubling the size of Kukui‘ula Beach by dumping 500 cubic yards of sand on it.  Floats, indicating the swimming area, are planned.  Ledge rocks are exposed at the shoreline and most of the swimming area has a rocky bottom.  The water here is sheltered by a breakwater and is calm in all but the strongest of south swells.  Facilities are available in the adjacent harbor park.  Beachgoers may use the harbor parking lot or park along Lawa‘i Road.   

 

Lawa‘i Bay

Location: Sixth tenths of a mile west of Spouting Horn Park

Coordinates: N21° 53.30', W159° 30.17'  

Length: 200 yards

Facilities: None

 

Lawa‘i Stream flows through the wide crescent-shaped beach that lines the head of Lawa‘i Bay.  All the land behind the beach at Lawa‘i Bay is owned by the Allerton estate and is the site of the Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden.  There is no public land access to the beach but it can be seen when touring the garden.  The high cliffs on either side of the bay add to its sense of seclusion.

 

Pālama Beach

Location:  Three miles south of Kalaheo

Coordinates: N21° 53.16', W159° 31.35'  

Length: 0.4 miles

Facilities: None

 

Palama Beach borders Nomilu Fishpond.  Filling a volcanic cinder cone and covering 20 acres, it is one of the largest fishponds in Hawaii.  Nomilu Fishpond is actually a saltwater lake fed by natural springs, which turns the water brackish.  The fishpond was famous throughout Hawaii and the mullet raised there was said to be especially delicate.  The Palama family has owned the fishpond for many years and has lent their name to the nearby beach.

 

The beach has a steep slope and a raised shelf of rock at the water's edge along most of its length.  When the surf is high, the rocks create a good surfing break.  A half-mile offshore, Lanipu'ao Rock nearly breaks the surface of the ocean.  It is marked by Palama Buoy and is a popular diving destination.  The only roads near Palama Beach are private cane haul roads.

 

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