Haena Overview

While Haena has few services or shops, it’s home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the state and a handful of intriguing natural sights. Its one-lane bridges carry thousands of cars every year to and from Kee Beach, and the beginning of the Kalalau Trail. Popular activities include fishing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, and surfing. The town is home to a mix of Hawaiian taro root farmers, mainlanders vacationing in fantastic beachfront homes, and visitors intent on exploring the area’s unspoiled beauty.

Leaving Hanalei, Route 560 ascends parallel to the western shore of Hanalei Bay before going through the miniscule town of Wainiha and following the coast through Haena to its end at Kee Beach.

Accommodations And Camping

A number of vacation rentals line the streets of Haena, and those with cash to burn can enjoy their luxury. An online search or a call to a rental agent will yield many appealing—and certainly pricey—options. In summer, staying elsewhere may be your best bet. However, budget-conscious travelers bent on staying in Haena need not despair, as Haena is also home to one of the North Shore’s only budget accommodations,   YMCA Camp Naue , on Kepuhi beach. Turn makai (towards the ocean) onto the west end of Alealea Rd., right before mi. marker 8. The not-for-profit camp, equipped with hot showers, sleeps 56 people in five bunkhouses and can accommodate tents on its lawn. During the summer the camp is typically reserved for large groups from youth organizations and schools and is closed to the public. The best time to find a bunk here is from mid-September to mid-April. Reservations aren’t accepted; to check availability, call or visit the campsite. A sign on the front gate will indicate whether the camp is open for drop-in travelers. (☎808-826-6419 or 808-246-9090. No linens. Tents and bunks $15 per person. Arrive before dark. Cash only.)

Food

The only convenience store west of Hanalei is the Wainiha General Store, at mi. 6.5, on the left after the Wainiha Bridge. In addition to stocking drinks, snacks, and sunblock, it’s also the last place to rent snorkel gear ($7 per day) on the way to the beaches. The store also store bikes ($5 per day) and bags ($3 per day) for hikers heading to the Kalalau Trail. (☎808-826-6251. Open daily 10am-7pm.) Red Hot Mama’s , a bustling food window next to the general store, serves a variety of Mexican-style dishes, including taco salad ($10) and popular “The Mama,” a burrito with rice, lettuce, cheese, corn, beans, and choice of protein or veggie ($7-9). (☎808-826-7266. Open daily 11am-5pm. Cash only.) A coffee shop and decent restaurant are located in the Hanalei Colony Resort past mi. marker 7. The Na Pali Art Gallery and Coffee House serves up fresh-brewed cups of 100% Kona ($2.75) as well as a dependable house blend ($1.75). Don’t think of sitting down to the morning paper here—it’s standing room only in what is an island-themed art gallery first and a coffee counter second. (☎808-826-1844. Open daily 7am-4pm, gallery until 5pm.) Next door, Mediterranean Gourmet (Lunch ) offers ocean-view dining to the resort crowd, and fancier versions of Middle Eastern favorites like kebabs, falafels, and hummus. As usual, lunch dishes ($12-17) are a better deal than dinner dishes ($23-30). Though pricey, the restaurant might be a refreshing change in a place with little gastronomic diversity. (☎808-826-9875. Open M-Sa 11am-9pm.)

Beaches

From the stark black lava rocks of Lumahai to the green vegetation on the cliffs at Kee, Haena’s beaches are strikingly beautiful. These glorious golden beauties outshine their soft-sanded cousins to the east in Hanalei Bay, offering everything from hardcore surfing to child-friendly wading pools. These beaches are listed in order from east to west along Kauai’s North Shore.

  Lumahai Beach.  (Bodyboarding. Snorkeling. Open daily 24hr.) Considered by many to be Kauai’s most beautiful beach, a picture of Lumahai sits in every postcard rack on the island. Divided into two stretches of sand by a mass of volcanic rock halfway down the beach, Lumahai is a joy to explore. The west half of the beach, bounded by a stream, is one of the widest beaches on Kauai. Devastating surf and powerful currents make swimming here unsafe year-round; the ocean has claimed more than one life. On the far west side of the beach, there are excellent barrel waves for bodyboarding. Sunbathers and fans of the musical South Pacific (it was Nurses’ Beach) frequent this captivating stretch of sand, and families with children sometimes take a dip in the stream. However, due to the occasional flash flood, swimming is not advised. The east half of Lumahai, also known as Kahalahala Beach, is even more exquisite than its western counterpart and a better place to swim and snorkel; however, it is consequently more crowded. Powerful winter waves and tides can also make the sometimes placid water quite dangerous. Stay away from the lava rocks on either side of the beach—freak waves twice the size of others are common and can be deadly. Both halves of Lumahai are accessible from the other; simply climb over the giant rocks that separate the sands or walk on a path behind them. (Leaving Hanalei, the highway takes a U-curve toward the sea between mi. markers 4 and 5. Long turnouts lined with parked cars hug the base of the curve, and a short marked trail leads down to the beach from the 2nd turnout. To access the west beach, an opening in the trees leads to a large dirt parking lot 1 mi. after mi. marker 5. The east end is accessible via a short but steep 100 yd. trail that leads from a turnout down to the beach; ignore the misleading “no beach access” signs, which only refer to the trail going up on the right and not the one going down on the left. )

  Tunnels Beach (Makua Beach).  (Snorkeling. Surfing. Open daily 24hr. Lifeguards daily.) A wide horseshoe reef encloses the fine, and often hot, sand of the North Shore’s premier snorkel and shore dive locale. On calm summer days, Tunnels’ crystalline waters and intricate reef are a sight to behold. Despite its fame for complex underwater topography, the beach’s name actually describes the hollowness of its winter surf. With the right wind and swell direction, the right-breaking Tunnels is arguably the best surf location on the island. Trees back the long sandy beach, providing much-appreciated shade. The coral reef is close to shore and shallow in parts; take extra care not to touch or step on the coral. There are no facilities, but Haena Beach Park (see below) is only a 10min. stroll along the beach to the west. (Two unmarked dirt roads provide access. The first is 1 mi. west of mi. marker 8, just before a “Weight Limit 10 Tons” sign, and the second is 1 mi. farther. The second dirt road is longer, offers a few more parking spaces, but also ends at a steeper slope to the beach. Due to the popularity of Tunnels, spots tend to fill up quickly. It may be necessary to park at Haena Beach Park, 1 mi. down the road.)

Haena Beach Park.  (Open daily 24hr. Lifeguard 9am-5pm.) Popular with Kalalau Trail backpackers, Haena boasts a grassy, if sparsely shaded, lawn that welcomes a multitude of tents. A huge expanse of sand and picnic, bathrooms, camping, and shower facilities, along with the Maniniholo Dry Cave across the street, make the beach park a nexus of North Shore activity. Kayakers venturing off to explore the Na Pali Coast often launch here. The beach park is closed to camping on Mondays for maintenance. Due to its exposure to ocean currents and the steepness of the beach itself, Haena is dangerous for swimmers, especially in the winter, though beachgoers pushed off Tunnels will spill over into Haena’s patch of sand and water. The surf break, Cannons, on the west end of the beach, is exceptionally dangerous due to crazy currents and a sharp, shallow reef. (The park is easily accessible. Two parking areas are located on the highway just before mi. marker 9 and across from Maniniholo Dry Cave.)

Kee Beach.  (Snorkeling. Open daily 24hr.) Kee attracts beachgoers with soft sand, exceptionally clear sapphire-blue water, and towering cliffs which mark the beginning of the Na Pali Coast. Kalalau Trail day-hikers, beachgoers, and cave explorers share the sprawling parking lot, which forks right to restrooms and pay phones. Families noisily fan out across the hot sand with their coolers, beach chairs, and mini armadas of flotation devices. During the summer, experienced snorkelers can explore the area just beyond the reef. In winter, rip currents and waves make snorkeling impossible outside the protected reef. The sandy shore stretches east to Haena Beach, but most visitors stick to the area west of the parking lot, where a jumble of lava rocks leads around the bend to stunning views of the Na Pali cliffs, a very popular spot for sunset photographers. (The beach is at the end of the highway, and additional parking can be found about 1 mi. before the end, on the ocean side of the highway.)

Kepuhi Beach.  (Snorkeling. Surfing. Wind sports. Open daily 24hr.) This long, narrow ribbon of sand provides the venue for a secluded day at the beach, hidden from the highway by a series of residential roads. Few visitors ever come to Kepuhi, and even locals tend to pass it over in favor of Tunnels to the west. The sloping beach provides good snorkeling during calm surf, but beware of occasionally strong currents. During low tide, a long wading pond forms along the rocky shore, which is perfect for kids. Local surfers and kiteboarders also frequent the windier west end of the beach during the summer. (From the highway, turn right on Oneone Rd. just after Hanalei Colony Resort. Turn left on Alealea and then right on Alamoo Rd., which curves left to parallel the beach for about 1 mi. Access is provided by unmarked pathways on both ends of Alamoo Rd., right at the bend in the road where it loops back out to Alealea; park on the grass along the side of the road.)

Sights

Limahuli Garden. The final of the three National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Kauai, Limahuli Garden features a comprehensive collection of native plants and traditional lava rock wall terraces that date back over 700 years. Nestled in the foothills of the Na Pali cliffs, the garden aims to educate the public and re-establish native plants among more aggressive, recently introduced flora. Limahuli’s focus on conservation complements the art and science themes of its sister gardens, the McBryde and Allerton Gardens , in the Lawai Valley. An uneven 1 mi. trail meanders through the terraces and climbs a bluff to a perch with outstanding views of the soft green mountains and bright blue ocean. (Toward the mountain, between mi. markers 9 and 10. ☎808-826-1053; www.ntbg.org. Open Tu-Sa 9:30am-4pm. 2hr. guided tours at 10am by reservation only, $25. 90min. self-guided tours $15, under 13 free. Guide book included.)

Maniniholo Dry Cave. Maniniholo Dry Cave is a large crevice carved out of the soaring rock walls behind Haena Beach Park. Legend attributes the cave to the Menehune (a tribe of deity-like troublemakers) and a fisherman named Maniniholo who dug into the rock to capture an evil spirit that was stealing their catches. In reality, thousands of years of pounding surf carved the gaping hole out of the cliffs. The sea’s creative (and destructive) power was evident once again when, in the 1950s, a tsunami closed much of what was a huge cave. Even at its current size, it remains an impressive sight. Stop for a picture to remember and walk around the cavern if you’re headed to Kee Beach. (Across from Haena Beach Park. Parking available in the beach lot.)

Wet Caves. Just west of the dry cave lies the boundary of Haena State Park, which encompasses Kee Beach and the nearby wet caves. Scientists estimate that the caves were formed 4000 years ago, during an earlier geological period that was marked by a higher sea level. Hawaiian lore offers a different story, crediting the fire goddess Pele with creating the two water-filled caverns. Scouring the islands for a hot, dry home to suit her needs, Pele came across the North Shore of Kauai but quickly left when her subterranean explorations yielded water. Linked to the ocean below ground, the level of the two freshwater caves fluctuates with the tide, and scuba divers sometimes explore Waikanaloa. Signs request that visitors don’t swim and warn of leptospirosis and falling rocks, though there are usually people wading around anyway. Those with cuts should definitely refrain from taking a dip. (A grassy visitor parking lot on the ocean side of the highway shortly past Limahuli Garden provides access to the trail, which begins a little farther down and across the street. There is also limited parking right at the trailhead. Waikanaloa is farther up the highway, just before the Kee parking lot.)