Lucky me we had the entire beach park to ourself. Not meant for adult swimming or diving deep to snorkeling but for a families with young kids or those who can't swim this is the best to cool off. Known for the sandy shallow ocean pools and a bountiful tide pools to explore. The natural lava rocks surround the area making protected lava pools blocking the crashing waves. The parking itself was plentiful, but when school is out and the island is at its peak tourist season you never get the seclusion I got today. The park has tables, restrooms and even horseshoe courts. Anytime I can get out and dip in the water is a win! read more

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So many beautiful sights to see on the Big Island. I love that we planned ahead and packed some food to enjoy while out sightseeing. We like to go exploring off and on the main roads finding great spots and meeting some friendly locals. We bring enough food to share. read more

Awesome just a great place to get in the water and float with the sea and it's sea friends. There's lots of parking and it's quite clean.

Peaceful and beautiful location for the whole family to enjoy the Hawaiian seashore a local turtle named "Bubbles" also frequently visits this spot and can be seen in the protected cove read more

Hawaii best Ohan Keiki beach!!! Great shade, surf break to keep the swim area calm, has bathrooms and good parking. read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park - Tide pool - Beaches Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Beautiful protected waters, free parking, amazing sunsets. While exploring al the beaches in Hilo, I stumbled across this gem. So peaceful. A series of sea walls make up several calm, clear pools of water with the open sea beyond. I found this area enchanting! Easy parking perfect for keikis and older people, or persons with mobility issues. read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park - Calmest waters in Big Island. Perf for keikis & older aunties! - Beaches Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Easy to enter water & snorkel around the rocks. Be sure to check the tides chart to get the deepest water. Shade, grass, & so pretty

Onekahakaha beach located at the outskirts of Hilo town. There are pavilions to rent with grills at each location. Parking is first come, first serve. The beachside has tidepools and a large pond without waves. read more

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When you are a kid and cannot really swim that good, a GREAT beach is Onekahakaha beach park! It's not deep and is protected from the ocean with large rocks; it has its own break-water! This place used to have all sorts of stuff crawling around on the rocks and it was fun to catch those little critters. Now, it's much cleaner and the pavilions look so much better. There's much less stuff crawling around - but if you look good you can still see crab and vana (sea urchin). Do not step on the vana. This place is just a great place for families to hang out at and for the little kids to play and even swim! read more

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We came to Onekahakaha Beach Park during our recent visit to the big island. This was the perfect place for a toddler to splash around in the water without the threat of big waves taking them out. She absolutely loved it! Be aware that there isn't a sandy beach to lay out on, so I would recommend bringing some beach chairs and chillin in the water. read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park - Beaches Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

So far one of the kid friendliest spots we've found in Hilo. Like natures own kiddie pool. Water is super calm, not super deep, and relatively warm. Plenty of grass, which is awesome to avoid getting super sandy. We definitely enjoyed our time here! read more

I'm very pleased to see a great cross section of nationalities that enjoy Onekahakaha. People truly enjoy the calm and beauty of this beach. We also enjoy it very much read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park - Beauty at its finest "Onekahakaha" - Beaches Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Nice beach and very ample parking. Only true kid friendly place we found with tons of sand and very Little Rock. Won't see turtles here but definitely a good day hangout spot! read more

It's a nice place to have a small gathering and to walk out on the rocks to fish. There is a shallow area for kids, but I'd avoid that area unless you're sure you have no open cuts on wounds. The water there doesn't drain /refresh like other areas and can get dirty and stagnant. If you must, go further out toward the rock wall where there is improved water circulation. read more

We got there early. Before 10 am and got perfect parking and a perfect spot in the shade. If you come any later you may have to find parking along the side and just plop yourself in the sun but tons of people brought there own pop up tents and chairs. Bathrooms available. Pavilions available but I'm not sure if you need to reserve or pay for them. Nice little spot for families to hang out and children to play in the water. My daughter can't wait to go back again. Do not forget the sun tan lotion though ! And lots of water! read more

This is a real beautiful beach. It is calm enough to swim in, and there's usually lots of honu around too. They have restrooms and a decent size parking lot. When I was here one year there were high tides and the parking lot was completely flooded. It was actually pretty cool. Love this place! read more

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Very nice beach especially for kids nice relaxing and beautiful rainbows don't let the locals scary you alway from the beautiful place lol at least they party and keep it clean! Very clean beach and definitely don't wanna pass this gem up read more

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Family friendly beach with a play area for kids, picnic area and large enclosed area for swimming and keeping the waves out of the way. Parking lot is small and this park is busy on weekends, so try to get here early. The restrooms are kept clean and there is an outside shower to use as well. There is also an enclosed horseshoe play area across the street from the restrooms. read more

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Calm, fun beach for young kids and their family. Grassy area to sit, picnic tables available. Beach is like a lagoon. Calm and shallow for little ones. Fish and sea creatures in the water for kids to explore. Large rocks surround lagoon blocking waves. read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park - Onekahakaha beach - Beaches Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

So beautiful I can't wait to come to Hilo again to come and visit this place. I'm from Oahu and I feel that this beach is definitely the Sandys or Makaha Beach of Hawaii island. This beach stretches a long ways and it seems like its always packed with locals. Love it! read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park - Beaches Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

One of the best keikei (kids) beaches in all of big island. Our 3 yr old loved it here. After doing a tour of the banyan tree road and the gardens adjacent to it, we came here post lunch to let out daughter be the beach bum that she is! It was fun to mix with the locals and have a relaxing time as a family munching on some pizza! Very calm and serene beach with Bful white sand for kids to build their castles read more

Fun beach for little kids or people who can't swim! Coming to Hilo before kids our favorite beach was Richardson beach but now that we have a toddler we found this beach and loved it! The water is super shallow with a sandy bottom but there are large rocks you might have to cross so I'd recommend getting water shoes....they sell them at the local Walmart for $5 for kids sizes. Saves your kid's feet from getting cut! read more

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When ever I go back home we always come here to go swimming with the kids. One of the best places to from my childhood days. Just gotta love the ocean and all the scenery around it. read more

This is definitely a beach to bring your small kids to swim and explore. Its actually not a beach but there's a few nice big sandy bottom tide pools and it looked fairly shallow with a great view of the coastline. Prime real estate or a good spot is at a minimum so you might want to get here early for a good spot. Parking was tight when we got here but we did manage to get a stall eventually. read more

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It's hard to find sand on the Hilo side of the island. We came twice to this beach. Lots of families swimming in the Sandy area. We packed lunch both days and enjoyed relaxing by the ocean. There are lots of trees so you can be in the shade. We snorkeled to the side of the busy area and saw a variety of fish. We saw a different turtle each time which was a nice surprise! We were warned about theft but didn't have any issues the two times we were there. A lot of locals were in the covered buildings celebrating birthdays. It was really good to see the mix of locals and tourists! read more

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Best baby beach in Hilo or Puna areas! Blocked ocean water with no waves. *May be referred to as the keiki pond or keiki beach. Lot of keiki Friday mornings. read more

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This beach is the perfect place for kids with parking close to the beach and wave-free swimming areas protected by rocks.

One of the best family beaches--perfect for keikis just starting to get familiarized with ocean water. They have long had a nice rock wall barrier that keeps in very warm heated water that is no more than 4' deep at its deepest. Although not big, most of the Big Island beaches with sand are not big anyways--which makes this one of the best local beaches. Bathrooms, showers, grass and sandy areas, and plenty of fish and even the occasional large sea turtles, combined with picnic tables and decent parking makes this one of my family's long time favorite beaches. Definitely NOT a touristy style beach, but the natural part of this beach makes it feel much more real. My oldest son caught his first fish right off the rocks in only 2' of water also! Great Hilo style beach. read more

This is one of the nicest and cool looking beaches I've ever seen. This is an ideal place to bring your kids to swim if they love the ocean and are beginners in swimming. That's because they have a rock wall that surrounds this beautiful swimming hole and is no deeper than 3-4 ft. There's also a lifeguard present just in case. They also have a different areas to have a picnic with your family or friends as well as a small horseshoe ring where you could play. There's no fee to enter the beach area and parking is available all around. I came here with my family on a Tuesday so I could just imagine how busy the place could be on the weekend. Definitely recommend a visit if you're a beginner swimmer or just want the kids to have fun in the sun. read more

Onekahakaha Beach Park is simply a great place to bring the family. You've got a picnic areas, grassy areas, shallow waters shielded by breakwaters, and even the occasional ice cream/shave ice truck. The keiki (li'l ones) will just love this place based on the beach alone. With a wide range of depths from about 1-4 feet, youngsters of all ages and swimming abilities will enjoy the warm tropical waters here. If you bring your dive mask or swim goggles, you might even be able to catch a glimpse of some native aquatic life in their natural environment. So, why not five stars? Onekahakaha killed my BlackBerry. Sure it was my fault that I left it in my board shorts, but that was only because I was so distracted with the natural beauty of this place and the inviting waters. Don't be so surprised if the same thing happens to you... I have a panoramic shot of the beach park, but it's way too big to upload to Yelp. If you're interested, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnoldandremy/3722443477/ read more

Excellent beach for anyone visiting Hilo. There is a sandy area suitable for kids (well protected from the surf). Lots of lava rock areas throughout, great for spending an afternoon tidepooling. We have taken our niece and nephew here on many occasions, bringing a basic fishing pole. It is quite easy to catch small reef fish (pick up a telescoping pole from Walmart, some 2lb test fishing line and small #12's AH hooks - use raw shrimp as bait). Find an area with knee deep water and you should catch fish all day long. There are picnic benches (bring a table cloth) and county restroom facilities (hold your breath) and trees to provide shady areas. Lifeguards are present, not exactly when tho. There are more beach parks further east, I wouldn't recommend any area beyond this park as any tourist headed out there will get a taste of hawaiian sovereignty- read more

I will be honest, I'm a Richardson's Beach fan and will always be. I went there today at 2:00 and couldn't get a parking spot in their parking lot or up the street :( I drove around and decided to check out OBP for the first time. Somehow got parking (very, large parking lot which is great). As a single girl in her 20s, this didn't really appeal to me. It's mainly babies (hey if you like kids swimming with diapers next to you, this is your kind of beach!), little kids, families, and pregnant Hawaiian women smoking (I'm not kidding). Most likely wouldn't go back to. Will just get to Richardson's earlier and check out some of the other beaches on this side of the island. Pros- -lots of parking -lots of places to sit -pretty -lifeguard read more

This was the first beach I went to in Hawaii. It's incredibly beautiful, the color of the water is amazing. There's a few surrounding tide pools, which have sea turtles in them, and rocks to sit around them. We had a picnic there, and it's a little windy, but the scenery can't be beat! It's very rocky, but has great spots to sit and look out at the ocean. There's also a small beach area further down, and a walled in swimming area. I enjoyed the water, and laying in the sun here. It's a lovely place to walk around in, and there's even trees to sit in the shade if you want. This place is really gorgeous, if you're in the area, you really should stop. read more

Great place for friends and family gatherings. Nice spot for picnic lunch. Warm waters. Giant "Honu" (sea turtles), and other sea life to explore. Great place for all age groups. Had a great day here! read more

This is a Great sheltered beach! This beach has showers, tables, shade trees, grills, restrooms and an occasional life guard. If Hilo had a Waikiki beach this would be it. Except this beach is cleaner, larger, less crowded and more scenic. If you feel like exploring the other side of the rock wall, don't underestimate the waves. I only go over with children on low tides and calm waters. I've only had one negative thing here but I can't blame the beach. A hippy lady decided she was going to soap up and wash her clothes in the ocean where children where at play.... some people read more

Loveeeeeed this beach !!!! We have a 4 and 6 yr old and it was perfect for them to run around without fear of crazy waves. Also lots of green and shade to hang out. read more

This is a beautiful park on the beach road in Hilo. Perfect spot for smaller children to play in the water as the beach is sheltered by lava walls and also has a lifeguard. Lots of grassy spots, picnic tables, clean restrooms. If you're in Hilo and bored in the evening, pick up some local food and take it down to Onekahakaha Beach and watch the east coast sunset or watch cruise ships going out on certain nights of the week. Beautiful spot to sit and relax and enjoy Hawaii. read more

Favorite family beach. The scenery is awesome. When they upgrade it and clean it up and upgrade the pavilion it'll draw more tourism. Other than that it's my favorite beach since childhood. read more

This beach park is a good one for kids, since the water is very shallow and it's very roomy. We came there and there were a good amount of families and children. read more

This was one of the most beautiful stops we made. There's even a playground and area for horse shoes. It's nicely maintained. Great place to relax!!! read more