Hideaways Beach
Princeville, HI
Hideaways Beach tucks beneath the cliffs at Princeville, a small pocket of golden sand reached by a steep trail through ironwood trees that keeps it from ever feeling as busy as the resort above it. The cove stays calm enough for snorkeling most of the year, with a rope strung along the steeper section of trail to help with the climb back up.
The snorkeling and the seclusion are hard to match this close to a resort, though the steep trail down and back up is genuinely demanding and keeps a lot of people away.
How we score beachesGo at low tide if snorkeling is the plan. The cove narrows enough at high tide that there's barely room to spread out a towel.
Public parking is limited to a small area near the Princeville entrance guard shack, a short walk from the trailhead.
A steep, root covered dirt trail with a rope handhold on the last stretch makes this one of the harder beach accesses on Kauai, not manageable for strollers, wheelchairs, or anyone unsteady on their feet.
Summer's calmer water is best for snorkeling the cove's small reef. Winter's north swells can send surf into the cove and make the trail muddier and more slippery than usual.
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