Lopa Beach
Lanai City, HI
Lopa Beach opens up south of Kikoa Point on Lanai's remote southeast coast, a longer run of soft sand than most of this coastline offers, ending near the stone walls of an old Hawaiian fishpond. It's a favorite with campers and shoreline fishermen who don't mind the drive, and on a calm day the water clears enough here to make wading worthwhile.
It's one of the better actual stretches of sand on this coast, and campers and fishermen return to it regularly, but the drive and the rocky shallows keep it from being anyone's easy, everyday beach.
How we score beachesCheck conditions before you get in past your ankles. The nearshore bottom is shallow and rocky, so this is a beach to wade and look, not one to plan a real swim around.
Rough four wheel drive trails branch off Keomuku Road toward the beach, several miles past Keomuku village. There's no lot, just wherever the trail lets you pull off.
No paved access anywhere along this stretch. Expect rocky, uneven ground from the trail down to the sand.
Dry months keep the trails passable and the water at its calmest for wading. Road conditions change fast after rain, so this isn't a beach to plan around a rainy forecast.
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