Ho’okipa Beach Park

Not even a place to
Visit the turtles have tumors, the locals are rude and wanna fight a lot of tourists, a lot of breaking into cars, the bathrooms are very dirty, staff in the water, shark attacks, very slippery stairs, people have. Died in the water there, not even worth it going to that beach, just don’t go

This beach is a nice stop along one’s journey on the Hana Hwy. There is plenty of parking in the lot off the side of the road. I’ve heard this can be a great beach for surfing however I did not see any surfers when my wife and I went one morning in October. I will also say that while its great for a romantic walk along the shore, it’s not the best for swimming as there are huge rocks that stand between the shoreline and the breaking waves. All in all its a great place to stop and walk around, but there are definitely better beaches on Maui in my opinion.

We came here after our snorkeling guide mentioned, we could see turtles at the beach around sunset time.
She was indeed correct, there is a restricted area where turtles come on the beach… folks are to remain 15 feets away from the turtles and there is a local person there to monitor if you get too close.
The waves at this beach are ridiculously amazing, we saw tons of surfers. Its a long narrow beach. Not the most prettiest beach, but the waves and turtles are worth it.
The park itself has alot of hippie and pot heads around… or thats what I smelt and saw; bathrooms — I wouldn’t go if you don’t have to; just don’t drink water on your way to the beach. and you should be fine until you get back to your home/​hotel.

Easy to get to, not too big so there’s parking. But the main beach side parking stays full. If needed park at rhe look out and walk down.
Lots of beer drinkers in the beach parking lot chilling. Very park feel vs beach feel.

WOW, this place is dangerous! Terrible rip tides and tough walking sand. The parking stunk and they bathrooms were portapotties. YUK. The signs indicate that you need not go in the water, or you might drown. Ok, this is not my idea of paradise!
Tried to find any place near by to go in the water…
Forget it!

The beach is long and narrow white sand; uncrowded with plenty of space to spread out.
An exposed reef runs along most of the shorebreak, and frequently Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles (Honu) can be seen on the other side. If that’s not close enough for you, at least a couple of turtles can be found lazing on shore at the far end of the beach most days (Park where you can then head towards the showers and take the stairs down to the beach and turn right towards where all of the surfers a putting in.) At first most folks don’t even realize that the rock like items are turtles. Typically as sunset approaches, many Honu will begin popping up in the shorebreak to beach themselves for sunset to rest for the night.
The experience is very cool and would be an excellent thing to take children to see.

A great beach to visit during your stay in Maui. If you’re driving to Hana or you just want to get away from your resort beach for a different experience you should definitely stop here and stay a while.
If conditions are right you will see wind surfers, surfers, and sea turtles. The turtles hangout near the south end of the beach under the lookout area. Be respectful though and don’t get too close.
If you get hungry you can probably grab a bite from a food truck vendor. I had a #2 hot dog from Bob’s Dogs of Maui and it hit the spot.
I’ll definitely go back next time I’m in Maui.

We stop here 3 – 4 times a year just to enjoy the view of the ocean, the surfers, (sometimes) the wind surfers, and, most recently, HUGE sea turtles up on the beach.
The «park» is in two parts. Down at seaside is a beach, with most of the roadside parking taken by the surfers and their fans on a good windy day. The beach provides the ocean access for the surfers and kiters. Up above, where we go, is just a long narrow parking lot with occasionally a transient vendor or two (read: coconuts from the back of an old pickup truck). It sits on the cliff above this popular surfing and kiting area. So the views are the only reason to stop unless you’re participating in the water sports. But those views are great reasons to stop by for 15 – 20 minutes, amoung the best on Maui.

Hookipa is like a theater for ocean wind sports. Leave it up to the professionals and experienced humans to entertain you with their sails & kites, and just enjoy the view.
PARKING:
Parking is plentiful when there’s no surf. When it’s up, good luck to you.
THE PARK:
There are a bunch of covered and uncovered picnic tables, BBQ grills, grassy areas, restrooms, and showers.
THE BEACH:
While there is sand to lounge on, the majority of the water is full of shallow reefs which is not suitable for swimming. However, the area at both ends of the beach have a tiny, sandy, shallow area good for dipping. Past the reef, the ocean gets choppy and pretty rough.
TIP:
There is a lookout with a small parking area just east of the main entrance which overlooks the entire beach park.

Ho’okipa is a must for watching amazing windsurfing, kitesurfing & surfing in general. Sea turtles like to hang out on the beach at times, too. I’d give it a 5 but sometimes the crowd can be a bit rowdy, so it’s not always the most family-​friendly atmosphere. But stopping on your way down Hana HWY for a quick look-​see is fun!

HUGE Sea turtles!
Small hidden gem of a beach about 7 min east of Paia. It’s more of a wind surfer’s dream location with the big winds but the water was nicely cool on a hot day and saw 5+ huge sea turtles crawled up on the beach. The area where the sea turtles typically hang out is roped off but is close enough to see and marvel at these incredible creatures.
When you enter as you drive in, there’s an overlook area where you can buy drinks/​snacks from informal vendors and overlook the beach but the cooler experience is driving down and parking next to the beach and getting out there.
Bottom line: Low key and worth the visit, esp for those who want to get a chance to see sea turtles. But get ready for some wind.

This must be on your to do list for Maui! Perfect spot to watch experienced surfers and paddle boarders! Added bonus are the 20+ sea turtles that come up to snooze in the evening. I could have sat there all day!

We came here on a Tuesday at 8:30 am. There was a surf competition going on. Beautiful beach! Not many people on the beach! Maybe just 5 or 6! This beach is very picturesque. This is a surfing and laying out beach! You will not be able to swim here unless you are a very strong swimmer! There is a small rock break that allows for some wadding in the water up to your calves maybe but after the break it is pretty rough. Even where the break is the waves can still crash over the break and hit you with some force! There are a few spots of shade on the beach which is nice.
There is great surfing here! But not for beginners who may not be able to get out past the first rock break!

Again, I want to put only 1 star so that this beach doesn’t get overpopulated… but anyways, this beach is great place for sunset as well as to watch turtles come up to shore. When the waves are rough, only about 20 come up to rest around sunset, but on a calm day they said you can see up to 40 turtles resting! Amazing! I love nature.

This beach was beautiful (though could be dangerous if you don’t watch where you are going). It has lots of rocks toward the middle of the beach and lots or rocks out in the ocean so it’s not really a place to go swim but more for the surfing with big beautiful waves. We came in August and it was beautiful and big waves then could only imagine what it’s like in December. Def worth the stop to walk down onto the beach when you are taking your trip to Hana

Surfing, snorkeling, or just taking it all in all in. This little stretch of public beach is must stop while in Paia.
Known for its windsurfers, this is a great spot to see local and tourists alike show their skills on the water. We saw people of all ages hitting the water with surfboards of all lengths, boogie boards, snorkels, etc.
We also had the luck of seeing two very large sea turtles taking turns sunning themselves and swimming. Very cool to be that close to such an amazing creature.
Keep in the mind the beach area is somewhat small, and does get crowded. Best to get here early.

While visiting Maui over the last week, we went to this beaches a lot! It is down the road from Paia, which I love! We saw many turtles both basking on the beach and eating in the ocean! We also on 3 different occasions saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal sleeping on the beach! The view is fantastic both on the beach and up on the lookout! Good parking and facilities.
It is used by surfers a lot I guess due to the choppiness of the water. Plus it is rocky in a lot of places but that also means there are nice tide pools. Great beach!

What a PERFECT beach with a gorgeous view!
Made this stop when cruising past Mama’s Fishhouse as well as cruising on the Road to Hana.
I think this is one of the most beautiful ocean views I have ever seen.
Even though it says to not cross over the gate and walk past, tons of people do it, and it is worth it! the sand is perfect and the water is crystal clear.
love it!!!

I love this beach.
I may say that about almost every beach in Maui, but it’s true. What’s not to love? Warm waters, breathtaking views, but in addition, this spot has some things that others don’t. Plenty of parking, picnic benches, bathrooms, tide pools, AND experienced windsurfers and surfers making their way through the waters. The waters look rough, so I don’t think it is ideal for snorkeling, swimming or paddle boarding. But for a relaxing day in the sun, this backdrop is all you need.
I love it even more since it is close to my new home.

On our drive to Hana, we saw this lookout and decided to stop. This was one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in Hawaii. The water was so nice and there were tons of surfers and wind surfers in the water.
A local suggested we went down to see the water closer, it’s really beautiful so we thanked him and went. We had about 5 minutes of privacy to ourselves to take photos and enjoy the scenery in peace. Then you saw people heading down to join us. That’s usually how things work with us, we start a trend and followers just join in lol.
It was very breezy here and we almost lost our camera getting tipped over from the tripod, but hubby has great reflexes and caught the camera in time.
It rained for about 3 seconds and it went away. We got to sit here and enjoy the view for an hour or so.