Kahana Bay Beach Park
Kaaawa, HI
Kahana Bay curves into a wide, sheltered inlet inside Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park, its calm water and shallow sandy bottom making it one of the gentlest swimming spots on the windward side. A stream feeds into the bay at one end, keeping the water a little cooler and cloudier there than out toward the mouth.
One of the calmest, most sheltered swims on the windward coast and genuinely uncrowded most days, though the stream mouth can cloud the water after rain.
How we score beachesPaddle a kayak or stand up board across the bay in the morning before the wind picks up. It's about as calm as windward water gets.
A free lot sits right off Kamehameha Highway at the park entrance.
A flat, sandy path leads from the lot straight to the water, no stairs.
Calm nearly all year thanks to the bay's shelter. Summer brings warmer water and a slightly bigger local crowd.
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