Larsen's Beach
Kilauea, HI
Larsen's Beach stretches nearly a mile along Kauai's north shore east of Kilauea, backed by a low bluff and fronted by a wide reef flat that keeps the outer surf from reaching the shallows near shore most days. It's a walking and shell hunting beach more than a swimming one, with strong currents running through the reef's channel that locals treat with real respect.
Locals like the solitude and the shelling, but the reef channel current is a real hazard that keeps this off most people's swimming list.
How we score beachesStay well clear of the reef channel near the eastern end. That's where the current runs strongest and where most rescues on this beach happen.
A dirt lot off Moloaa Road holds a handful of cars, followed by a short walk down a red dirt path to the sand.
The unpaved trail from the lot to the beach is short but has a few uneven, rutted sections, not practical for strollers or wheelchairs.
Summer's calmer trade winds and smaller surf make for the safer time to be in the water at all here, though even then the reef channel current doesn't fully go away. Winter's bigger swells make this a beach for walking the sand, not swimming.
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