Sandy Beach
Kaunakakai, HI
Past Murphy's, the highway keeps curving along the coast until a small white sand crescent appears right at the roadside, unceremoniously named Sandy Beach. It's easy to drive by without noticing, but on a calm day the cove makes for a quiet swim with almost nobody else around, which on Molokai is really saying something.
A genuinely quiet swim when the water cooperates, but a south swell can shut it down entirely, and there's nothing else out here to fall back on if it has.
How we score beachesCheck the swell forecast before making the trip out this far. A south swell turns this cove rough fast, and there's nothing else nearby worth the drive if the water's not cooperating.
Informal roadside parking along Kamehameha V Highway serves the beach directly, free and small.
The sand starts right at the road's edge, no path or stairs needed to reach it.
Summer's calmer seas are the reliable window for swimming here, since south swells common the rest of the year can make the cove genuinely rough.
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