We visited Laniakea Beach around 3:00 p.m. in July to see the Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu),…read moreand it was an unforgettable experience. There were turtles of all sizes making their way from the ocean to the rocky shoreline, where they grazed on the sea grass growing in the tide pools. Honu are culturally significant in Hawaii and are revered as symbols of longevity, peace, and good fortune. Adult Hawaiian green sea turtles can grow up to 4 feet long and weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. It was incredible to watch these beautiful animals surface for air before returning to feast on the sea grass. Everyone around us was respectful, giving the turtles plenty of space while still allowing visitors ample opportunities to observe and take photos. Within just 15 minutes, we saw approximately 10 turtles come ashore to feed - it was truly an amazing wildlife experience. On the opposite end of the beach, there is a protected area where sea turtles often bask in the sun. Please be sure to stay outside the marked red rope barriers and follow the posted signs to help protect these incredible animals and their habitat. Our only disappointment was an interaction with one of the staff members monitoring the protected area. We observed him speak sharply to an elderly visitor who accidentally brushed the red rope with her foot. Later, when our 6-year-old son politely asked whether the turtles were laying eggs, the response felt unnecessarily stern. While the information provided was helpful (e.g., that sea turtles do not nest on this beach), it would have been appreciated if it had been shared in a friendlier, more welcoming manner, especially with a curious child. That interaction aside, we had a wonderful visit and highly recommend Laniakea Beach to anyone visiting Oahu. Just be prepared for limited parking, as the small dirt lot across the road fills quickly, and expect some traffic during peak hours. If you're hoping to see Hawaiian green sea turtles in their natural habitat while respectfully observing from a distance, this is an incredible place to visit.

It's hard to believe that it's been over thirteen years since my 1st visit here. I've been back a…read morevariety of times, bringing travel companions to experience this. As the years went by, the traffic and parking situation became a nightmare for all. After parking your vehicle across the road, you start the video game Frogger in trying to navigate and dodge passing cars to cross the road. Coming this year with another 1st timer, we found a dedicated spot to park ((https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&select=vvIKqY2lR0itJ69ZUlXhJA).) where even the sanctuary volunteers leave their vehicles. The best part is that they installed a marked crosswalk (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&select=N7ZkG2n7jMLelhcy1vzRdQ) for people to cross in a more safe manner; do still exercise caution in crossing the Kam Highway. On the Tuesday early afternoon we went, the waters were rough with 30 to 40 ft waves. As a result, the beach was taped off as a safety measure. I walked to the primary beach section were the sanctuary volunteers monitored the situation to make sure visitors do not bother the wildlife here. As I spoke with a volunteer originally from St. Louis, she pointed out a seal (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q&start=24&select=U6UBzjIUZhr2lFKcMbobiA) that made it's way to the beach to find a resting spot. As my friend and I walked back towards the open area across the parking section, we stared with other visitors towards the break line and saw smaller turtles struggling to make their way in, often catching their bobbing heads out of the water or the outline of their bodies contrasting to the clear waters. None made it to the beach, what little sand space there was, while we were there. The key to seeing the turtles is to check the tide times and trying to come when it is close to high tide. We'll see how things on my next visit, whether we have time or interest to see the turtles.

Took a drive to Hale'iwa today, so made a stop at Ali'i Beach Park. It was certainly better than…read moreWaikiki Beach. Not nearly as many people and lots of empty sand for people to lay their blankets down without being too close to each other. Was so peaceful just sitting on a rock to watch the surfers coming in on the waves (or at least trying to!). There were young ones on their body boards close to the shore, too. I think there must've been folks trying to learn to surf here. There were two groups of people with boards beyond the first few waves. Was wonderful just to sit and watch them! I just wish there were turtles and monk seals there, but we weren't fortunate enough for that!

It's not really alii beach park but a little to the left there's a PRIME spot some people call…read morefresh airs (or so I think lol). If you're lucky you can get a parking at the back gate on Pikai street and walk through straight to the beach! The bathrooms are pretty far from here but you can always drive to the beach park or there's even Kaiaka beach park next door with showers too. ***The one thing about parking here and coming here is to be very respectful as you're in a residential area. Lots of locals but also lots of places are rented out to tourists. You're pretty much at their back yards. It's also the best place for the sunset! Which it gets a little busier at the time with families walking or driving over just to catch the last hour. It's clear and good for children. Sometimes it can be a little choppy so of course still use caution anytime you're at the beach. There's not a lot of shade but still my favorite spot. We recently moved to waialua so this'll be my favorite place to come with my family at least once a week

I couldn't search for Pohaku Lana'i in Yelp, so I was finally able to find a place where the…read morebalance lock existed. Balance Rock is a historical landmark located at Pohaku Lana'i in Haleiwa, HI. This ancient Hawaiian site for God worship was recently visited by world-famous Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani who came to see it because it is known for its "big energy". On a recent visit, it was easy to feel the aura of peace surrounding the unusual natural rock configuration that appears to balance one large rock on top of another. Pohaku Lana'i offers plenty of parking for easy access to the grassy park area where the Balance Rock is located. Close to the ocean, the park is a comfortable place for people to gather, enjoy the beach, and restroom facilities are available as well. Yelp でポハクラナイが検索できなかったので、バランスロックが存在する場所を探してようやく此処に辿り着く事が出来た。 大谷翔平効果で一躍有名になったバランスロックは特に日本人の間でブームなのかも知れない。 この古代ハワイの神崇拝サイトは、その「大きなエネルギー」で知られており、世界的に有名な日本人の偉大なベースボールプレーヤー大谷翔平が訪れた事で一躍注目を浴びる事となったのです。 最近私達が訪問した時も、大きな岩を別の岩の上に、まるで人工的にバランス良く設置したように見える珍しい岩の周りには、とても安定した平和のオーラを容易に感じ取る事が出来ました。 ポハク・ラナイには、バランス・ロックがある芝生の公園エリアに簡単にアクセスできる十分な駐車場があります。海に近い公園は、人々が集まり、ビーチを楽しむのに快適な場所であり、トイレ施設も利用出来るので是非ハワイ訪問の際には此処に来て大きなエネルギーを感じ取ってください！

Being raised on the North Shore of Oahu I would say Kaiaka Bay is the North Shore's version of…read moreMagic Island. When I worked in town (Honolulu) I would run Magic Island on my lunch breaks. Here at Kaiaka Bay - There aren't any paved walking paths but it's still fun to run around the the perimeter of park (dirt) or the paved road. There is plenty of parking. There are clean bathrooms and showers. There are BBQ areas and campground. There are several picnic tables, mostly shaded. I see people surfing and fishing here but have honestly never swam. I have spotted several turtles here. The park is located Haleiwa on Haleiwa Beach road, right next to Haleiwa Elementary School and is a great place to picnic at.

Papa'iloa Beach is a relatively quiet beach in Oahu's North Shore area. It's not as well-known as…read moreother beaches in the area but has gained more notoriety in recent years as the TV series Lost was partially filmed here. It's tucked deep in a residential neighborhood and can be difficult to find. There are only about 10 parking spots and there's a very small and narrow pathway to the beach itself. However once you find your way you'll come across a beach with blue water that has minimal foot traffic. We stayed here for about an hour and it was really relaxing. We saw the beautiful sun out and about and even saw multiple rainbows. We eventually saw a snake show up on shore. We looked up what it was and found it was a sea krait. It was said to be venomous and dangerous and we quickly walked away. It might not be as popular as other beaches in North Shore but it's still a really good one that has fewer people and just as much beauty.

Beach was great for beauty and lots of lava rock didn't walk too far parking limited. Beach sand…read morekind of course but nice to lay on swim. I know some people site sea turtles but none were seen the we were there.

This is a secret beach, see. No one ever wrote a Yelp review about it or nothing. It's a great…read morebeach, one of my favorites. But it's secret, OK? So after you read this review, just try to forget you ever heard of this beach. One of my favorites because the snorkeling is really nice here. The beach is broad and sandy, with very few rocks in the water as you enter or exit. The beach is kind of protected by an underwater reef that does a pretty good job shielding the beach from any big waves. For most people, it's pretty easy to enter the water here. Yeah, I'm not most people. I'm super uncoordinated. So uncoordinated I'm convinced that sooner or later someone is going to video me entering or exiting the water, send it in to America's Funniest Home Videos and win $10,000. Here, I'm trying to get into the ocean and do some snorkeling. I love to snorkel, but I always struggle with the equipment. Especially the stupid flippers. There's no way I can walk into the water, stand on one leg and slip my flippers on one at a time like everyone does. The way I do it is I wade out to where the water is a little less than knee deep. Then I just sit down in the water and try to get the flippers on between waves. Usually this method works pretty good. Ideally, after my flippers are on I can just flip over on my back, kick my legs a little and just and float out. But this time, the spot I picked wasn't quite deep enough. When I flipped over on my back to try to float out, there wasn't enough water underneath me to lift me up. Couldn't float. And I was in the worst possible position, with my back to the ocean. Almost immediately a wave broke over my head, pushing me back up toward the beach, driving my butt into the sand like a pile driver. Before I could even sit up the wave washed back out. As the water went under me and I felt my butt sink still deeper into the sand. In the back and forth of that wave about six pounds of sand was packed into my swim trunks. I was left inverted, my feet were higher than my head. I didn't realize it immediately, but my legs were actually out of the water. Only my upper torso was still in the water. I pushed myself up on my elbows and surveryed the scene. I had to twist back and forth to pry my ass out of the sand. Then it was a struggle to get to my feet with that six pounds of wet sand in my shorts. I still had my flippers on. I was in about three inches of water. I shook out as much sand as I could from my swim trunks, but that sand was wet and it wasn't going anywhere. It was my sand now. So I did that crazy walk on your heels thing you have to do when you have flippers on to get far enough out in the water where I could actually swim away. That's the story about getting into the water at Haleiwa Army Beach. Now, please just forget you ever heard this story, just forget this beach. Mikey C says: Haleiwa Army Beach? Never heard of it.

Is there such a thing as a hidden gem in Hawaii?…read more This place comes very close to it. While Wifey and I were exploring North Shore after having crossed off Giovanni's Shrimp Truck and Matsumoto's Shave Ice from our bucket list, we needed a place to wind down and relax. We drove along Kamehameha Highway and pulled into Kahalewai Place and found a parking spot along the side road. One thing we noticed right away that it seems to a a local spot and there weren't too many tourists around, even though we were up in North Shore. We walked towards the beach and followed some people with surfboards in tow. I could see a bunch of locals out by the beach on their paddle boards and surfboards, and most of them were kids and young adults. It seems to be the local surf spot for beginners as the waves were pretty tame, but it was consistent with the North Shore winds behind them. It also seems to a be a good fishing spot for locals as there was a Filipino family enjoying themselves having a picnic. I got into a conversation with one of the local fisherman (P. Sherman), who told me what types of fish he was catching and how to cook 'em. He showed me his bucket of his catches of the day, and they were enough to feed his family. He didn't have to, but he was nice enough to let me take photos of him as he was more than accommodating. I thanked him for his time and appreciated his hospitality with my intrusion on his daily life. We explored the area some more as there were trails to follow, but there were also "Private Property" signs posted everywhere. I was beginning to wonder if Mark Zuckerberg bought half of this place with all those signs around. But we skirted around it as we went around the beach and enjoyed the relaxed vibe and energy of the beach. We also liked that it wasn't very crowded compared to the hustle and bustle on the main strip of Haleiwa as it felt like a cocoon shielded us from that source. We could have spent more time on this beach, but we wanted to see and experience as much as possible on the North Shore of Hawaii. Definitely a place you could spend a day at if you were a local.

Great beach to learn to surf. Lessons from Sand n Sea were here; waves about 3-5' when we were…read morethere. A few other surfboard rental n lesson places are set up in the parking lot. Each place has a different number of surfboards in different sizes. Reservations are best if you have specific board needs.

We were looking for a beach on the north side to enjoy the sun during this crazy time. We got here…read moreat 9 am on a Saturday. A few parking stalls available, but in all probably 15 for the beach. There is a bit of dip for a few stalls off the road which our car scratched the front on. The beach is beach access so look for the sign and trash cans. The walk is 200 feet from the road to the beach on sand. There is four steps down from the walkway to the beach sand. Saw a few people with pull wagons having a hard time on the sand so don't really recommend unless you pop a place right at the front. We went a bit down for social distancing. The water was beautiful. The current was a little strong pulling to the left. There is enough beach for little ones to play. People were fishing and spear fishing. The reef is a great place to snorkel. Overall, very pleased with our out of the way find. The place would probably be crowded by noon on any given day but it was nice a calm for a Saturday.

Crozier Beach is one of my favorite beaches on the North Shore. It's nearly secluded and hidden in…read morea residential neighborhood behind houses. The beach is serene and the water crystal clear. I stood by the shore and watched the sunset with hardly anyone around me. Only the sounds of the waves breaking interrupted the silence. Truly a magical moment only living in Hawaii can provide. There is a small parking area. Once you see the parking lot, you'll know you are in the right place. There is a path across the parking lot that leads to the beach. This is a great hidden gem and worth the detour when around Haleiwa. The drive is really nice too with views of beautiful trees and countryside. It's very different from the highways and crowded streets of the city.

Located at the Ritz, it's super fancy driving in. I like! Although we didn't see any turtles when…read morewe went, it was a nice and relaxing little beach with trees for shade (my kind of beach). I enjoyed it because the waters were calm, lots of people snorkeling and it was super relaxing. It's definitely a good stop when exploring the North Shore. I still don't understand why people go to Waikiki Beach. North shore is waaaay better. Will definitely go back!

Parking is non existent and the traffic is terrible. I'm talking about bumper to bumper traffic for…read moreHOURS. Beautiful area but not worth the drive there in my opinion. Also, keep in mind that there is a 50/50 chance you will even see turtles.