Mauna Kea Beach — Attraction in Hawaii

Beach- 5/5 Snorkeling: N/A Amenities: Restrooms

The entrance is Mauna Kea Beach Drive. There's a gate where you let them know you want to go to the public beach, and they'll indicate if there are spots open. I read once that there was a charge; they gave us a voucher. Getting to the parking lot is a twisting adventure, complete with a lot of golfers not paying attention. At the parking lot, there's a ticket machine. We inserted our voucher and were good to go. There's limited parking (30ish? spots), and a decent walk on along a road down to the beach.

The beach itself is great. Awesome white sand with some trees if you want shade, but the beach is narrow so you're never far from the water. On the day we went there was a moderate number of people. I'd infer that it's never overrun with the limited spots.

Surf was high the day we went. I didn't see any surfers, but there was plenty of boogie boarders. We didn't snorkel, but I also didn't see any areas either.

Overall, if you can get in, it's...

It was the water here is very nice and calm in the mornings. The afternoon gets a little rougher but still very very swimmable. There are two big floating rafts in the middle of the bay that the resort has put up for you to swim to. I definitely recommend that you try swimming there if you are strong enough swimmer but try to use their snorkel and fins that they offer for rent for free if you feel like you are a novice swimmer. This is a very safe place since lifeguards are present and they do take action. The wildlife in the water is also very plentiful if you want to snorkel near the rocks. Every once in a while a sea turtle will also come close to shore and you can get some beautiful...

We came in the afternoon on a Saturday (the Saturday after memorial weekend) and got into the parking lot no problem. Did not need to pay. Either come in the morning or wait till afternoon. The public beach is adjacent to a resort. This is not a problem, other than the umbrellas and paddle boards are not for you :) It is a sand beach (sand-colored sand IMO) with a lot of space. We found shade under the trees that line the beach. Waves were gentle on the day we came. Good for swimming, to try out your snorkeling gear,...