Mauna Lani Beach Club (Pauoa Bay)
Waimea, HI
Pauoa Bay curves into a small, calm cove at the heart of the Mauna Lani Resort, the kind of clear, protected water that makes it an easy favorite for a slow morning swim. The resort's beach club sits right behind the sand, but the bay itself, along with the ancient fishponds just inland, is open to anyone willing to find the public lot.
The calm cove and the historic fishponds nearby are worth the walk, but reaching it without paying for resort parking takes real planning.
How we score beachesSkip the resort's own parking and use the shoreline access lot behind the Sports and Fitness Club instead. It's a fifteen minute walk along a shaded coastal trail, but it's free and rarely full.
A public shoreline access lot sits behind the Mauna Lani Sports and Fitness Club, a fifteen minute walk from the beach along the coastal trail. It's free and usually has space even when the resort's own lot doesn't.
The coastal trail from the public lot is flat, packed dirt and paved in sections, an easy walk though not a short one. The resort's closer lot offers a paved path straight to the sand.
The Kohala Coast stays dry most of the year, with the calmest, clearest water for snorkeling from late spring through summer.
This isn't one entrance, it's a stretch with a few. Here's where locals actually meet up.
Pauoa Bay (Mauna Lani Beach Club)
The resort's main beach fronting the Beach Club restaurant, with the calmest water in the cove and rental gear available for guests and visitors alike.
Parking: The resort's small beach lot is reserved mostly for guests. The free public shoreline access lot behind the Sports and Fitness Club is the reliable option.
Local tip: Go early and the cove is close to empty, well before the resort's pool crowd wanders down.
Get directions →49 Black Sand Beach
A small, 800 year old black sand beach tucked inside the gated Mauna Lani community of the same name, overlooking Honokaope Bay with a calm, reef protected cove good for snorkeling.
Parking: Public access exists, but visitors need to check in at the community's guard shack for a beach pass, issued in limited numbers each morning.
Local tip: Arrive early. The pass count is limited, and locals who know the drill show up before 9am.
Get directions →Brown's Beach
A quieter pocket beach reached on foot from the Beach Club along the coastal trail, tucked past the fishponds with clear water and far fewer people than Pauoa Bay itself.
Access: No direct vehicle access. Reach it by walking north from the Beach Club along the shoreline trail, about ten minutes on flat, packed sand and rock.
Local tip: This is where locals go when Pauoa Bay feels too busy. The walk alone filters out most of the crowd.
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