Po'olau Beach
Maunaloa, HI
South of Papohaku, Pohakuloa Road runs another couple of miles before a paved turnoff drops down to Po'olau, a small cove of white sand broken up by black lava outcrops. It's quiet even by Molokai standards, more a picnic spot than a swimming beach, with a reef just offshore that surfaces when the tide pulls back.
A genuinely peaceful stop for a picnic or a quiet walk, but the rocky entry and missing signage mean most locals drive right past it for Dixie Maru instead.
How we score beachesThe sign marking the turnoff has been missing for a while now, so watch your odometer along Pohakuloa Road rather than counting on seeing it.
A paved access road off Pohakuloa Road leads to an informal parking area right at the beach, free and never full.
The paved road runs close enough to the sand that it's a short, flat walk in, though lava rock scattered near the water makes bare feet a bad idea.
Maui County's countywide leash law applies to this beach like every other public beach on Molokai.
Summer's calmer water is the only real window for wading here, since lava rock on the bottom makes any kind of chop unpleasant. Winter's bigger surf is best admired from the sand.
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