Paukukalo Beach
Wailuku, HI
Paukukalo Beach sits along a residential stretch of Wailuku's coast, a local surf and fishing spot with a rocky, uneven shoreline rather than the wide sand found further north or south. It's a beach mostly for the neighborhood, popular with skimboarders and shore fishermen who know the break by heart.
A genuine neighborhood spot with real local surf and fishing culture, but the rocky shoreline and lack of any real sand keep it well off the visitor beach list.
How we score beachesThis is a residents' beach more than a visitor destination. Come to watch the skimboarders and fishermen work the shoreline rather than expecting a swimming beach.
Street parking along the residential roads near the shoreline is the only option, limited but generally sufficient given the modest crowd.
A short walk from residential street parking to a rocky, uneven shoreline, not suited to strollers or wheelchairs.
Winter surf draws more of the skimboarding and bodyboarding crowd, while summer is calmer and quieter.
More Hawaii beaches

Waikiki Beach
Honolulu, HI · Hawaii
4 access points
The beach that put Hawaii surfing on the map, with gentle, forgiving waves for beginners, Diamond Head crater as a backdrop, and a reef that keeps the water calm most of the year.

Lanikai Beach
Kailua, HI · Hawaii
A quiet, residential-neighborhood beach on Oahu's windward side, with powder-soft sand, turquoise water, and two small offshore islets (the Mokulua) as a paddling destination.

Poipu Beach
Koloa, HI · Hawaii
A sheltered, sunny south-shore beach on Kauai split into a calm swimming lagoon and a livelier surf side, with a good chance of spotting Hawaiian monk seals resting on the sand.
