Beach: Haleiwa Alii Beach Park
Region: North Shore
Recommended Activities: Surfing, Bodyboarding, Fishing
Parking Lot: Yes
TheBus: Yes
Restroom: Yes
Lifeguard: Yes
Hale’iwa Ali’i Beach Park is located at the edge of Haleiwa town. If drive toward the beach on Kamehameha Highway (toward Haleiwa Boat Harbor) and turn left on Haleiwa Road, after another minute or two, you’ll find yourself at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park.
In my opinion, this beach is a little underrated. Haleiwa Alii Beach Park is a 19-acre beach park stretching almost a mile long. And although it’s a pretty good-sized beach, maybe because it’s in the opposite direction from where most people want to go (North Shore), it’s not usually very crowded.
Also, I wouldn’t consider it a great “swimming” beach, due to some sharper rocks and coral reefs below the surface, but whenever we stop through, we still manage a little swimming and the kids always enjoy playing in the sand without all the crowds.
The area itself is pretty low-key. In the winter, though, the waves can get pretty high. This is true for pretty much all the North Shore beaches. So, exercise some caution if visiting during the winter and, always make sure to check the surf reports for the day you plan to visit. Summertime is usually calmer, but you’ll still see people out on their boards and there are several surf schools in the area as well. Hawaii is known for having strong rip currents so just be aware of your distance from the shoreline at all times. We lost a beach ball and before we could grab it, it was floating out pretty far toward the open ocean; it surprised us a little to see how quickly the current pulled our ball out of reach.
For some additional pointers on beach safety, check out our article about Top Safety Tips for all activities while in Hawaii!
Despite things like that, we’re still pretty comfortable letting our kids play at the beach, we just keep track of them taking into account their ages and swimming levels. The sandbank makes it seem like the water gets deep pretty fast, but you can usually go out pretty far without the water getting too deep so the kids usually feel comfortable there.
Our daughter, the mermaid❤️.
I’ve heard turtles often make their way to Haleiwa Alii Beach and some locals even call this the real turtle beach of Oahu. I’ve never had the privilege of seeing sea turtles there, but there are a lot of pictures on social media by others, so maybe you’ll have a chance too!
A Haleʻiwa Aliʻi Beach Park sunset with our kids.
Like many other spots on Oahu, Haleiwa Alii Beach Park is also a beautiful place to watch the sunset. At the same time, there are so many great places to watch an Oahu sunset, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see a sunset from this beach unless we’re in the area already.
One fun thing I’ve come to appreciate in Hawaii is the shared beauty of watching the sunset with others. It’s not uncommon to hear people clap after the sun sets because they become overwhelmed with its beauty. I’m not sure where the tradition started, but it’s a nice way to bond with strangers over a beautiful Oahu sunset.
Perhaps, one of the best perks of this beach is we’ve never had a problem with parking. After a day or two on Oahu, I’m sure you know how huge of a win this can be! LOL. To be fair, once we had to loop around the lot a couple of times, but it still only took minutes to get a spot, so I still think it’s easy compared to many beach parks on Oahu!
The beach is great for potlucks and BBQs. And there is a bathroom with changing rooms and a shower area too. This beach has a lifeguard on duty.
When visiting the Hawaiian Islands, please treat the beaches and oceans with respect and care. HIOCEANSAFETY.COM is a great resource for surf and wind conditions as well as public safety information. You can also check out our article, Top Safety Tips When Traveling to Hawaii, which covers safety tips when going to the beach, hiking, and more. Have fun and be safe!
