Mokuleia Beach
Kapalua, HI
Mokuleia Beach sits just south of Honolua Bay inside the same Marine Life Conservation District, though locals almost universally call it Slaughterhouse, a name left over from an old meat processing plant that once stood on the bluff above. A steep stairway down the cliff leads to a sandy pocket beach known for strong winter bodysurfing and calmer summer swimming.
A genuinely great bodysurfing beach in winter and a calm snorkel spot in summer, though the steep stairway down and real seasonal surf mean it's not a place to bring an easy beach day expectation.
How we score beachesThe stairway down gets slick when wet. Take it slow, and know that the climb back up in the heat is harder than it looks from the top.
A dirt pullout along Honoapiilani Highway near the top of the stairway serves the beach, free and informal, with limited space.
A steep, sometimes slick stairway cut into the cliff is the only way down, not accessible for strollers, wheelchairs, or anyone with significant mobility limitations.
Winter brings serious, sometimes dangerous bodysurfing swell, while summer flattens out into calmer water better suited to swimming and snorkeling.
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