Kahe Point

I’ve often heard this beach talked about in passing but after 5 years on the island, I had yet to try it out for myself. Admittedly, though, I stopped by once to find a quick geocache.
Today my friends, visiting performers in the show CabaRAE, wanted to snorkel, see the west side, and hopefully catch a dolphin sighting. After much conferring with Google and fellow friends on the island, I decided on coming here.
All the reviews were correct, there was ample parking at the pavillion… even on a Sunday afternoon! That is always a plus in my book.
The weather was unfortunately not cooperating. It was cloudy, windy, and the waves were huge. This was only my second try at snorkeling and needless to say, due to the conditions, it kicked my butt.
My friends made it out much further than I but I will most definitely return. No dolphins spotted but another snorkeler saw a honu. She also informed us of a more proper time to spot dolphins.
There weren’t very many beachgoers, which was fine by me since it’s quite small.
This little area is a quiet gem and I’m glad I tried it. We will definitely be back!

Boy has this place changed!!! Kahe Point aka Electric Beach used to be a very shady place to go and was a place Dog the Bounty Hunter would go to find his «fugitives.» What a difference a few years makes! The place is cleaner than it’s ever been, no overfilled trash cans and the stench of urine and trash is all but history.
We stopped by today and found a varied mix of people there — tourists, military, locals, snorkelers and divers. It’s a popular place to snorkel and a great beach dive spot. To the right of Kahe Point the waves were up and there were quite a few surfers and body boarders too. This has always been a favorite snorkeling spot — just look in the distance and you will see boat tours taking tourists to snorkel. Coming from the beach side it takes a bit of effort to get past the waves to snorkel. The areas beyond the waves is teeming with colorful fish and turtles.
If snorkeling or diving is not your thing, to the left of the beach area there is a trail that hugs the coast where you can see tons of people fishing. Also, there is a huge covered «cabana» wherein you can have a party (I’m not sure if that requires a permit or if it’s first come first served). The bathroom has been cleaned up as well but I for one, do not use public bathrooms (especially at the beach)(i’ll hold it until I can get to a McDonalds or something).
Although this place has cleaned up a lot I still wouldn’t let my guard down. Secure your valuables before you park and always have situational awareness.

Great place along the Farrington Highway and on the Leeward Side. Right across from a power plant. There are a few places where you can relax or check out the sandy beach. Mostly cliffs and rocky areas at this park. And there are places where you can have picnics.
And as other Unilocalers pointed out, please do not leave any valuables in plain sight in your car and make sure to lock up properly!

I really enjoyed myself while trying to snorkel in this area. The waves are pretty intense trying to get in and out, and the break is harsh, but once you’re out it’s spectacular.
While out I was expecting to see a little more variety, and while there were a good number of fish, I felt there could have been more. I really wanted to see a sea turtle, but I was not that lucky. The water was a little murky, but I chalk that up to a bad day. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful being out there, and if you are into snorkeling go check it out.
FYI, we did not have any problems with people lurking around our stuff or our car.

This dive site is a very nice spot for divers of all skill levels. Beginners can stay in the shallows (3−10ft) while more experienced individuals can venture to the warm water pipe from the adjacent power plant or go to the reefs on the south end that have many caves and crevices for exploring.
The biodiversity here is top notch, many different fish species and if you are more of an invert guy like me, there are plenty if inverts if you look hard enough. Every now and then there will be dolphins but be careful as they are in much deeper water.
The facilities have greatly improved over the years and now they have a working bathroom and even a nice are to have bbqs.
The only reason why I am giving 4 out of 5 stars is because the area is not the safest area for two reasons:
1) the parking lot is horrible. It seems that every time that I go there are broken car windows. It has never happened to me thankfully.
2) it is a beginner spot for free diving spear fisherman as well.
So be careful!

This beach is also known as Electric Beach b/​c of the power plant across the road. A line from the plant discharges hot, clean water into the ocean and it creates a lot of bubbles which fish love, you if you can find where this pipe ends, there’s always a ton of fish there. Its about 100 feet out.
This is a great snorkel spot unlike others that get super crowded. Though I will say there was a scuba class, about 8 other individual snorkelers, and a spear fisherman while we were there. More crowded than I expected.
The waves are strong getting into the water so proceed with caution. The rocks aren’t sharp but they are slippery. We saw some dolphins off in the distance while we were snorkeling, and a ton of great fish, but no turtles. (we went on a wed am around 10).
Be respectful of the sea life and other swimmers while you are there.

the beach itself is not very nice considering it is next to an electrical plant but it is one of the best snorkeling spots on oahu. the fish love the warm water from the plant and are everywhere. if you go to the left side you will see turtles too. i even saw a stingray! better than the catamaran and hanauma! :) would have given five stars if the beach/​sand area itself was nice

I love Aaron D’s review of this snorkeling gem please reference it here:
This beach is good for: Snorkeling, Tanning and Scuba!
This place is often called Electric beach, but its true name is Kahe Point. With that out of the way, I will review Electric beach here, since I know many will Unilocal this since its a memorable name. To see the pictures on this same review as «electric beach» click here:
I was extremely afraid of deep water after my first snorkeling experience, and I will admit that it took me a couple months to work my way up to coming here. My recommendations would be start small at hanauma bay, then sharks cove, then here.
Parking: After you pass the Aulani disney resort on the highway, keep to your left and the first left turn before the power plant is where you want to park. There is limited parking and when it fills up, most people park on the side of the free way. I did this for 6 hours one weekend and my car was fine. Just be smart, and be safe about it.
Getting to the Beach: You walk past the port-​a-​pottys and the under construction gazebo area and right after the showers you walk down some rocks to a small sandy beachy type area. As many have said no, this is not your typical beach. There are no food trucks in the area, there is that one port a potty and its in a strange location. Plan ahead and bring lots of water, snacks and sunscreen. I think its a prime spot for tanning and snorkeling even with the highway and power-​plant behind you, its not picturesque but thats not what you should be here for! You’re here to swim!
Before you decide to get in: decide who is going to partner up, Never snorkel alone – and watch the waves. Take note of where they are coming in and also look into the distance for the disturbance in the water — that is where you will be headed. The waves can get to a decent size as they break on the shore. But usually after a couple minutes it will settle down and then start up again. Get your gear on and then wait for a the calm and swim out, if you’re not as lucky, just swim under the waves and just past the wall and breaks, you will be fine as the water is typically very calm and flat. The depth of the water goes easily from 5 feet jumping to 10−15−20−30 and maybe even 40 at some spots with no coral. However, the plus side is that you truly do feel like you’re swimming in a fish tank. The water is usually crystal clear and the visibility is spectacular.
As you swim out, try to swim to the right and follow the coral out. Once in the water you should be able to see bubbles and the disturbance clearer now. If you’re not an great swimmer try not to pass the rock wall as the current is relatively strong and can keep you in one place for some time. You will know the pipe when you see it, it will be bustling with aquatic life. The current is a little stronger here as well.
If you get lucky, you will be able to see more than just fish. We have been blessed to see 2 pods of dolphins, 2 monk seals, and turtles! The warm clear water is prime for this animals. Please just remember to respect all the animals you encounter, look, but do not touch. Do not get close enough to disrupt what they are doing. We are just visitors in their home.
When you are trying to go back in, make sure you have your parter with you. When you are facing the beach and the electric plant, make sure you are to the right of the wall this time. Swimming directly in front of it will have you fighting the current. The waves can get bigger upon entry but relax and let them take you in. Don’t forget to clean up and leave the beach as you found it!
This place is less crowded than others on the island. Weekdays are obviously better than weekends, but even on the days when all the tourists are there and the boats are dropping off snorkelers its still a prime spot and you’re not bumping in to people. Hope you make this a part of your stop while you enjoy this beautiful island!

In my opinion it’s a toss-​up whether this or Shark’s Cove is the best snorkeling on Oahu. Pros for this spot are how clear the water is and the sheer amount of fish you see in the pipe area.
Even though the pipe area has the most fish I thought the reef area to left side of where you enter had the most variety of things to see and colorful coral. Also saw a manta ray here the first time I went which was a real treat.
The only con I can think of is just getting in can be chore for the inexperienced because of the shore break.

Amazing sea life at the pipe. Hundreds of fish and two turtles in a small area. BUT BEWARE THE CURRENT– if you’re not a strong swimmer go somewhere else. Also a bit of a rough entry but just shore break.
The shore break was big enough that this was not a good beach for little kids. 12 and up maybe but not the little ones.
If you pull up the site on Google maps, you can see the power plant, and then you can see where the pipe runs out to the ocean– use that to guide where you need to go.
Parking lot was busy so security didn’t seem to be an issue. Maybe different on a quiet day?

I’ve snorkeled a few spots on the Island, and this was by far the best place I went. When we parked I saw a bunch of dolphins breaking the surface, and swam out to that area and saw a pod of over 30 dolphins playing around. It was definitely the best snorkeling experience I’ve had since I love dolphins.
The area with the pipe was also pretty rad, the water was super warm and there were thousands of fish in the area. I didn’t sea any sea turtles unfortunately, but it was still an amazing experience.
My only complaints are: the parking area doesn’t feel like a very safe place to park my car for an extended period of time, and there are too many boats circling around not paying attention to anyone outside of the idiots that paid to be taken out there. I came about ten feet from getting nailed by a boat.

Good to only pass by and not stop because it’s very hot and most times it has lots of people.

Great snorkeling on the west side. Lots of turtles. dophins swam by me while in the ocean. I would come back again

This is without a doubt one of the best dive & snorlel spots on the island. I have been to the Oahu six times since 1989 and always do a dive day here. This is a gerat dive for beginners or pros. I took my son here when he was just certified at 10 years old. We still dive it together if we are on the island at the same time. I always heard about cars being broken into but have never had a problem, although my wife and daughter were on the beach collecting shells while we dove. I Will be back in April of 2012 and this #1 on my must do list.

Get a kahuna dog while you’re here

Nice beach and a great place to snorkel. Word for the wise… don’t bury your car keys in the sand prior to jumping in the ocean. Thought I had a brilliant plan, and it backfired big time. I spent 45 minutes digging the entire beach up before I finally found them. I would have rather someone stole my car as opposed to looking like a huge idiot in front of everyone. All in all, we had a great time and will try this one again if we ever come back to Hawaii.

I snorkeled Hanauma Bay, Shark’s Cove — but Kahe Point was my favorite (and the least crowded).
Kahe Point was pretty easy to find and has convenient (free) parking. There’s a relatively small beach to the right (facing the ocean).
I hadn’t really paid much attention on how to find the pipes ahead of time — I figure it would be pretty obvious but I got in wrong. We swam off the beach to the left — this leads to a nice reef with lots of fish. We ended up exploring this reef before heading back in to get our bearings for the pipe.
From shore you can see some turbulence in the water caused by the water from the pipe — we swam towards the turbulence, but again we got it wrong — we swam too far to the left again — the turbulence is actually quite a bit further than the opening of the pipe (and isn’t very fun to swim in). We eventually found the opening. I think the easiest way to get there is to swim out from the beach and swim to the right until you’re in front of the sea wall. From there continue out — you should be able to find and follow the pipe pretty easily this way.
The opening of the pipe was pretty fantastic — hundreds of fish of all sorts. There were more fish here than I had seen at Shark’s Cove or Hanauma Bay. The water near the pipes is nice and warm — moving away from this area can be pretty cold!

Good for swimming

One of O’ahu’s hidden gems, home to local snorkelers, frequented by a few dive outfits, and some tours offshore. Depths are around 10ft with little to no shallow coral, but on a sunny calm day, can be perfect for a beach BBQ and snorkeling excursions!
While the lack of crowds add to what makes this a special spot, it also makes it hard to find. It’s on Kahe Point near the Ewa — Waianae boundary, across from the Heco plant. From town /​Waikiki, take the left turn lane before the plant and cross over the train tracks. There’s plenty of parking and is safe… please kokua and pickup after yourselves!
If you aren’t a strong swimmer (i.e. you were not on swim team), don’t go out in rough water. Some of the roughest snorkeling days I’ve experienced have been here. There’s also no lifeguard here — if this worries you, it’s best to stay out of the water completely. There’s another beach up the coast that may better suit you.
Lunchtime in the summer is your best bet, swells are calm and it’s nearly always hot and sunny Waianae side. There’s limited beachfront, best bet for BBQ’ing is under the gathering area… a good choice particularly for those who get burnt easily.
The water is teeming with life, and while less then destinations like Hanauma Bay, makes up for it with the lack of crowds and an area the majority of tourists (and even many locals) never see. People who are able to free-​dive, want to see a new spot, and am plenty comfortable in the water will enjoy this the most.

This was by far the best place I snorkeled while on the island of Oahu! I bought a dive map at an ABC store, brand Franko’s Dive map. I think you can find them online at
. Anyhow, I had been to the Northshore, Waikiki, Ala Moana already in the week. Friday morning it was too windy and rough to go out on the eastern coast, so I tried the «electric reef» over south of Waianae and just north of Ko Olina.
I am SO glad I took the chance even though this side of the island is where the sharks like to hang out. But it is also the side of the island that all the snorkeling and swim with the dolphin boat trips take you. So I got to this little beach, and put on my gear and jumped right in and swam out to the boats and the other snorkelers, WOW! All the fish, clarity, turtles, it was amazing! It was also early in the morning, the best time to go… Let me also point out that I did it for FREE, while all those other idiots probably paid at least $ 50 to go out on the boat and do it.
I spent about 2 hours hanging out there, some other divers were there, and snorkelers off the beach so I wasn’t completely alone, which was good becuase you shouldn’t snorkel alone.
Case in point, 2 Asain couples showed up, and one of the girls started to freak out not even that far out from the beach, basically I helped pull her back to shore, she was too weak to fight the wind to get back into shore… there was no major current except once you get near the shore.
But anyhow, it was AMAZING! Go check it out, but be aware the commune of bums living in tents in the area… I almost got bit by one of their pet pitpulls, luckily it was chained up!