Pokai Bay Beach Park is a nice little local park without a lot of tourists and a perfect place to…read morehobnob with locals. The beach is protected by a sea walk, so the water is a bit calmer than other beaches making it perfect for small children. The park has restrooms (although, they need some attention) and a small playground. My granddaughter spent a good hour playing on the playground. A lot of picnic tables are scattered throughout the park. Signs request no feeding of ferrel animals in the park. The highlight of the park for me is the presence of Ku'ilioloa Heiau historical Hawaiian ruins, which are protected within the park. The temple ruins are on a small peninsula at the center of the park. The ruins are maintained by the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation. Fishing is a popular pastime in the park. Fishermen perch themselves on the seawall or on the volcanic rocks below the point to fish. The beach area is lovely with the mountains in the background and ocean in front. The park is a perfect place to watch the sunset. There is plenty of free parking at the entrance of the park.

Nice little beach park with amazing 360-view. If you can't find parking at Ko Olina to enjoy the…read morebeaches at the resorts, this beach is about 8 miles more north, but it is worth the drive. The waters at this beach is a bit calm due to the sea walk. There are bathrooms here, but it isn't the nicest (typical public restrooms). If you walk just a few minutes away from the beach towards higher ground toward the cliffs, you get an amazing view of the surrounding mountains. There are plenty of trees for shade and a grass to set up tents and BBQ. There are some homeless? by the parking lot, so always be careful about locking up your cars. The people who come are a mix of mainly locals and tourist. I went during the day, mid afternoon, and felt very safe. There were plenty of parking. Everyone was just enjoying themselves.

Not bad place to start your adventure. Cons: there is no…read moresoap in the restrooms. Not much shadow near by the boat ramps if you need to wait

This is cute park with a pretty big gym. The reason I checked in here was for the electric box in…read morethe front with the beautiful painting of the Kupuna's. I really love that someone took the time to paint a beautiful picture on this box for everyone to see. It really adds beauty to the community.

So quiet and serene. It's a little walk to get to it but well worth it. Tied for my favorite beach…read more Pray for sets! Prey for S...

Secluded, uncrowded, and beautiful, Makua is a peaceful spot to park yourself, picnic, and splash…read morein the water. Because there is no shade, I highly recommend a chair and umbrella. For snorkeling, today was a bust due to the rough water which includes poor visibility and rocks that you cannot see. Ironically, all the beaches leading to Makua have a restroom, but not this one which is why I docked a star.

I love that this beach is accessible right as you're driving through the highway! How beautiful! My…read morefriends and I took a scenic drive to see the sunset and we ended pit stop here. We drove all the way from Wahiawa all the way to Makaha. It was about a 1 hour and 30 minute sunset drive to see all the beaches. I enjoyed every minute!

A Hawai'i beach.. it's great! ;)…read more Exploring the west side of the Island, I pulled off the side of the road to this beach. Plenty of beach with views. Some tree shaded parking, to boot. And about 30-40 off the road parking spots. This spot is seemingly popular with tourists and locals alike. Not crowded, but I did visit on a windy Sunday in November. One note: it was windy and I had to leave after an hour or so because the sand was whipping around and made it sadly not the best experience. Overall, a beach well worth the visit on the West side if you're looking for an approachable, easy beach.

Let's get a few facts and opinions out of the way from the start:…read more- There are better hikes on this island, much better (Olomana Ridge comes to mind) - The start of this hike is arid, ugly, and brutally hot with little shade - There are lots of buildings (and a road, that you ain't allowed to drive on) on the summit Now that you know all these things, this is the highest point on Oahu and a worthy objective! If you're a peakbagger-type, this high point is an absolute must and is very easy compared to the high points of Kauai, Maui, and Moloka'i. If you can stay cool, this is a pretty easy hike, in my opinion. The route-finding is very straight-forward and there's only a little bit of scrambling. About staying cool: I would bring a few gallons of water. Drink as much as you can while you're still at your car, then soak your shirt and a headband in it. This'll help for the mostly treeless first part and it'll be long-dry by the time you reach the cooler, moist upper parts of the mountain. Another options is to start hiking up before sunrise but, if you're on vacation, you're probably not to interested in that. Yes, the summit is covered in military buildings but the views are still fantastic. I highly recommend doing a 360-degree walk around the perimeter fence. Another advantage of this hike is that it's not insanely popular. It's possible you might only see one or two other parties on the whole mountain.

This hike is not for the weak and definitely not for beginners. Mt. Ka'ala is known as the highest…read morepoint on the island of Oahu but the trip and the end result is well worth your efforts. The whole trip can take about 6-7hrs, up and back. Item I highly recommend you bring with you: -Electrolyte WATER (***I took a whole gallon with me***) -Small snacks ( Nuts, fruit bars, protein/granola bars, musubi, manapua, etc) -Sunscreen (7 hrs in the sun will get you. My face was sunburnt after.) -Hiking spikes (It was slippery even though it wasn't raining.) -Gloves ( You'll be climbing lots of rope!! Your hands will get raw.) -Hiking Bag/Backpack -Wear long sleeves and leggings (The water wicking type to stay cool and protected from the sun and bugs.) -Hat -Sunglasses -Selfie stick -Satellite radio ( I had one just in case but we all had cellular connection the whole trip. ) -Cellphone & rechargeable battery -Bug spray -Good Attitude ( This hike was hard but it wasn't impossible.) I came here with a group of hikers, now my new found friends, and we all pitched in on a giant UHAUL 16-seater van so that we wouldn't have to take our personal vehicles. We did this because the parking lot for this hike is well known for break-ins, so we made sure that nothing was left in the van when we began our hike. From the start, it's all incline and it kept getting more and more steep the further you went in. Majority of the trail is covered by trees and brush so there was plenty of shade. The closer you got to the top, the better the view got and it was pretty fulfilling to feel so high up. Once you reach the Mt. Ka'ala sign and the forest conservation, you get to experience the Hawaiian rain forest where you're required to stay on the wood/metal path laid out to minimize human damage to the environment. You'll know you've reached the top when you see a fenced in building owned by the government. There's a path along the fence line that'll bring you to the final view. Once there, you'll finally be able to take break, sit down, breathe in the cold air and enjoy the amazing view from the clouds as they pass you by. Goodluck, stay safe and happy hiking!

So many people congregate on Waikiki Beach to watch the sunset each day... they simply do not know…read morethe stunning beauty that they are missing! The craggy beach here is a somewhat hidden gem on Oahu - certainly one of the Island's best spots to visit and far enough away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu that you feel a bit off the grid and can truly revel in the natural beauty. With stunning mountains and valleys on one side and the endless blue of the ocean on the other, this isn't just a great way to finish the day - it's a breathtaking location that can't be missed!

Great place - best in weekdays to be honest. There are some hidden gems inside the park area.read more

Now this was a fun and short hike! The older I get and the older age of the guests I take on hikes,…read morethe more interested I am in completing hikes that get straight to the point - the view! This hike falls in that category. Make your way to Makaha and park on a neighborhood street. Please be respectful of where and how you park to show respect to the locals living in the area. Please ensure to not leave any trash and if you see any, please pick it up and dispose of it properly. It's just a short 3-minute walk to the base of the little hike. I believe it took us 15-20 minutes to make it to the top. I felt comfortable enough to allow my 5 year old daughter hike on her own with my supervision. There were a couple challenging spots, but as long as you push through, you should be good. The view from the stop is absolutely stunning. Since the hike is on the makai side, you can capture a full 360 view around. P.S. Waianae/Makaha is synonymous with choke homeless people and Hawaiians. Please plan appropriately.

SUPER short hike, but really breathtaking views! Came with a friend, and we hiked up about half the…read moremountain. She decided not to do the bit of "rock climbing" involved, and stayed behind with my dog. Still a very worthwhile view for just 10 minutes of work (or less). I went on, and while the rock climbing was very short, it is not for everyone. It is not extremely clear how to climb it (for someone without a lot of rock climbing experience aka me), but if you were to fall, the probably of it being fatal seems low. Gorgeous views to your left and right when you get to the top. Skip the "right fork". Just a little beach walk. We were done with both sides in less than an hour.

The park is in the beginning stages of being developed, but the improvements are coming along. The…read moreplay courts are in and the field is getting greener. All it needs is more shade trees cause this side of the island is very hot!

Very cool hike. Unexpected difficult hike I would guess 2 miles round trip with some steep…read moreclimbing. I wouldn't bring kids unless they experienced hikers and no small dogs. But very rewarding hike with a beautiful 360 view at the top. Bring extra water and snacks and can have a nice picnic at the top.

This west side Pink Pillbox Trail isn't as famous as the east side's Lanikai Pillbox Trail, but…read moreit's only about a 15-minute drive from Aulani and way less crowded -- definitely a nice bonus. Just set your GPS to Puʻu O Hulu (Pink Pillbox) Trailhead, and you'll find plenty of street parking along that stretch. Still, I'd recommend parking closer to the entrance for safety because we noticed broken glass scattered on the ground further down the road, probably from past break-ins. We actually parked once, saw the glass right by our car, and quickly moved closer to the entrance instead. Right after we parked, it started raining. The forecast said it would last about 30 minutes, so we just waited it out in the car before starting our hike. The trailhead is right between a yellow "Falling Rocks" warning sign and a white "Speed Limit 25" sign on a utility pole. The hike starts with a steep incline, but overall it's not too hard and just a bit narrow at parts. There are three pillboxes total. It took us around 30 minutes to reach the first one at a relaxed pace, stopping for photos along the way. The first pillbox is painted in blue graffiti inside, and from there you can continue up to the famous pink one. When we got to the pink pillbox, there were surprisingly tons of flies swarming around the entrance for some reason, so we didn't stay too close. The wind was really strong up there -- strong enough that I had trouble keeping my balance! It looked like reaching the third pillbox would require climbing over quite a few rocks, so we decided to turn back instead. On the drive back, we passed Ulehawa Beach Park, where we saw a whole row of homeless encampments right by the ocean -- literally parked and camped along the beachfront. We even saw a few people running across the road and one guy riding his motorcycle the wrong way, yelling at drivers passing by. If that's a regular thing, really sad to see this.

I was honestly just driving around the island with no set plans and happened to stumble into this…read morespot. Finding a beach with actually decent free parking right off the highway can be a pain out here, but Nānākuli Beach Park made it super easy to just pull over and touch grass. The beach itself is really nice and wide, but the coolest part is definitely exploring the surrounding spots. If you walk around a bit, there are a lot of hidden rocky areas, tide pools, and cool vantage points to check out that most people probably just drive right past. It can get a little busy with locals hanging out and camping, but it gives it a genuine, non-touristy feel. Definitely worth pulling over if you're doing an island cruise and want to explore somewhere a little less manicured!

Beautiful beach clean restrooms Nice drive out to the…read morewestside We had about 30 people enjoying the day