Sunset Beach
Haleiwa, HI
Sunset Beach unrolls along Oahu's North Shore in a long, golden curve, home to some of the most famous winter surf on the planet. In December the swells stack up shoulder high and higher, pros and hopefuls paddling out together. By June the same stretch turns into a wide, gentle swimming beach most people wouldn't recognize.
There's nowhere else to watch world class surfing this close to the sand, but winter's dangerous currents and contest season crowds keep it from being an easy, anytime beach.
How we score beachesCome for a winter contest and you'll be shoulder to shoulder with a crowd spilling off the sand onto Kamehameha Highway. Come on a random Tuesday in August instead, and it's just you, the water, and whoever's out fishing.
Free parking lines the highway and fills a lot across the road, though both get tight fast on contest days, weekends, and any evening with a good sunset forecast.
A short, sandy path crosses from the lot to the beach, flat but soft underfoot, more of a workout for a stroller or wheelchair than it looks.
Leashed dogs are welcome at Sunset Beach, one of the few North Shore beaches that genuinely allows them.
Winter, roughly November through February, brings the giant swells that made this beach famous, along with strong currents that keep casual swimmers out of the water. Summer flips the beach's whole personality, calm and swimmable, with the smallest crowds of the year.
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