I grew up here. It started when it was Kauai Surf. Then the Westin. I believe the area near the…read morecliff at the lighthouse was called "Donkeys". Near the wall closest to the foreground is wear I stepped on a sea urchin in the 8th grade. And the shore at the hotel was where I leisurely swam.

The Kalapaki Beach is located in front of the Royal Sonesta Resort, and it provides convenient…read moreaccess to dining and shopping. I like the protected and calm water, although it's often overwhelmed with tourists from cruises.

Initially coming here to kill a little time before a reserved tour, my wife and I really admired…read morethe planning and execution of the building/landscaping of this family park. Named after a pillar in the community who came to Kauai in the late 19th century, Lydgate Beach Park is 62 acres, with the Lydgate Park pathway encompassing 2.5 miles, a small part of the much larger Ke Ala Hele Makālae costal trail. There is plenty of parking, with both dedicated surface lots and street parking on the paved road. We immediately noticed surfers on electric surfboards out pretty far, even on this windy day. At the northern part of the park is where most people gather, close to modern facilities and a manned lifeguard station and a large covered event area with plenty of parking. Closer to the shore, we saw a seal just lying on the land, bathing in the sun, completely ignoring the people milling by. The very large safe man-made swimming/tide pools are great for the kekei and others, with constant refreshing of sea water over the lava rocks. There are picnic tables nearby as well with a lot of green space. My favorite feature are the man-made protected swimming pools, What I loved about it was how spread out everything was, with so many amenities. It just never felt crowded, even if a lot more people came. As we were leaving, my wife mentioned that Lydgate Beach is one of those rare parks where an ocean-loving family would intentionally live close by, just to be near this park.

Two parks on one place! What a dream!…read more There was a wooden park that was large, had many different places to explore and separated by age interests. There were a lot of swings which my kids love and slides. Although one of the slides we found does a downward dip at the end that isn't very good for getting kids to come out of the slide. There is also an accessible park right next to it for kids that may need special equipment to play. But my kids enjoyed that play area just as much. The park is located next to the beach with lots of parking. There is also public restrooms which I don't use. I also saw many picnic benches around that would be great for a picnic or birthday party.

To get the right directions look for the beach parking lot on Google maps. When you get to the…read morestables keep left at the fork. Pretty rough road. Don't suggest if you have a low riding car. You park up top and walk down the trail to get to the beach. Didn't find the trail rough or slippery as others had mentioned. Interesting caves along the way. Long strip of beach good for walking and there are tide pools at the other end which have some interesting stuff to look at. This beach was listed online as good for body surfing and boogie boarding. Absolutely not! It's very very rocky. You would be thrown into rocks and very scraped up. Shipwreck beach nearby is a bit rocky but not this much... And much more suitable for boogie boarding.

I hesitate to give 5-stars (to hide it away from other) but this it fabulous. No showers and the…read morescenery is spectacular...

Located just behind the Wailua Golf Course driving range lies Range's Beach. You can access the…read morebeach by 4x4 from either the Lydgate Park side to the north or the old Marine Camp haul cane road to the south. The Old Marine Camp Rd is the unmarked road just north of Kauai Beach Dr and south of the golf course. If you're a tourist without a 4x4 taking Marine Camp Rd after any type of rain it's a bad idea. There are gigantic mud puddles and ruts all along this road as it is now defunct a sugar cane haul road. Back to the beach, Range's is located in the middle of the long beach stretch that goes from Kauai Beach Resort to Lydgate Park. It's a good 3 mile stretch of beach that is mostly accessible by 4 wheel drive although you can walk it from either end. This isn't the most scenic beach on the island by far but it's secluded and you can pretty much do what you want here as long as you don't piss off the locals. Mind you, if you do piss off the locals here, you're screwed. Seriously screwed. The reason for the 5 stars: 4 Wheeling on an East Side Beach. Fishing, there are several good fishing spots along this beach. There's also a few nice offshore reefs for diving as well. No ask where, OK. Surfing, although this beach rarely gets really good there are usually some waves here from the almost constant tradewinds. No Cops, well I've never seen one and I've been coming here for 20+ years. A few words of caution: The water here can be extremely deceiving as sand bars are constantly shifting creating strong undertows and rip currents. The locals here can get kinda crazy, its a good place to roll bowls if you know what I mean. Portuguese man o' war, they are everywhere here so pay attention and if you see them on the beach and you decide to go in the water be prepared to get stung.

This was an easy drive straight to the end of Maalo Road, and it's free!!…read moreIf you plan on doing any driving on Kauai I highly recommend buying the Shaka App. Four self guided driving tours with colorful narration and cultural storytelling.

Located at the end of Maalo Road, this beautiful double waterfall cannot be safely or legally…read moreaccessed due to the notoriously steep, muddy, and very slick unmaintained trail down. But you can however view it safely from the designated roadside lookout. The parking lot here, although free, is very small and often filled to the brim with cars. The lot itself is also in desperate need of maintenance as it is filled with potholes, so getting in and out may be tricky. There are also vendors who fill up the front part of this lot, which further add to the chaos. Located in a sacred royal valley once known as the capital of Kauai, ancient Hawaiian chieftains and warriors use to test their bravery by leaping from the top of this nearly 200ft tall waterfall. There's not a lot to do once you get up to the top of the lookout except to snap a few photos. So it is debatable if it is worth the drive all the way out to here and dealing with the whole parking lot situation.

We've been to the island a few times now and each time, we try something new. Since we were staying…read morein Lihue, we did a satellite view and found Hanamaulu Beach. It is definitely for locals and while there are unhoused individuals that call this beach home, they kept to themselves. We parked under a tree and decided to go for a swim. The water is murky but super calm especially when you compare it to the 10 ft swells Poipu Beach has been getting. The water all around the island has been a little colder than normal, but this beach has warm vents as you swim so the water was warm with a cool layer on top. We stayed for over two hours and everyone kept to themselves. When I threw away some plastic I found on the beach, I was in close proximity to a couple of unhoused in the pavilion and they paid me no mind. The dogs are super social and sweet so they're not a worry either.

This beach park is a literal dump: numerous abandoned & derelict cars (which, based on their…read morecondition were clearly towed here) along with the copious homeless encampments make this a must-avoid.

This was such a peaceful beach, it's wide and the water is very calm and luke warm. Our little had…read morea blast playing in the sand and running in the water. The black rocks are there in certain areas but they are fairly smooth and easy to sit on and let the waves be at your waist. Also there is an upper level of grass too so you can picnic and whatnot. We stayed here for a couple of hours and lots of people also came to scuba dive. They had all their gear and went to the right side of the beach, maybe even did classes there? You could also see the Spouting Horn in your front view. This was a great spot that seemed not as popular, it didn't get busy until late afternoon and we had the beach for us and another couple families for hours. Great find.

I really wish Monica G had not posted this review. However,more power to her for the first…read more Scrolling through some other Kauai postings and contemplating my way overdue return,I ran across this. Why Guy H you ask would you not want this posted? Because,it's ( all things considered) my favorite place on Kauai. I'm really gonna hold back on my exhuberance here,in fear of overcrowding. You see,a big problem with all of the islands in general is things are just busy. People are looking for new,easy,remote,no crowds. So,I'll leave it at,check out my photos of Lae Nani Beach,go if you're ever there and thank me later and Shaka Brah!

Lae Nani Beach is a very nice hidden gem in the East Coast of Kaua'i! It's relatively small and…read morelocated in between the resorts, but you still get a great view of the Kaua'i coast and can see the Kuhio Highway from a distance. Waves can be rough at times, but there is a protected lagoon with a lava rock wall as you first approach the beach. Overall, very nice place to relax and enjoy the scenery!

3.5. It was the beach closest to our resort (Kauai Beach Resort), and the only one we stopped in…read morewhile in Kauai (it just wasn't a beach vacation for us, surprisingly). The sand is soft and there are plenty of places to relax with few crowds at sunset on July 4th. The water is rough, and we only allowed our keiki to wade in. They still got soaked by the pounding surf. There is a bit of debris on the beach itself, but the views looking north are pretty amazing. Got that great beach at sunset shot (although so weird being from California that the sun sets mauka side on this part of the island. It was a lovely and relaxing way to spend Independence Day.

Anything regarding nature in Kauai is an automatic 5 stars. That being said,I don't spend a lot of…read moretime on this side of the island. It's beautiful but, arrid compared to the tropical " wet" side. However,I've put my time in exploring this side and as with the entire garden isle, beautiful. This trail can get hot but the cliff side views and multiple color blues of the ocean make it worth it. One of the things making Kauai my favorite island is the diversity. I a single day you can experience several unique ecosystems. If you do Maha'ulepu trail,make sure your sunscreened and hydrated. Shaka Brah

Beautiful trail along the hike that is fairly easy to moderate. A few bumpy parts, but no major…read moreelevation. Easy parking by Shipwreck Beach at the starting point. Took us a little over 2 hours with some photo opps.