Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island

Facts from the City’s park, closure-hours and lifeguard pages, checked Oct 12, 2026.

The park is open 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day (Parks and Recreation) and closed 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. (closure list). That is an hour earlier than the 5 a.m. opening many City parks keep, which suits dawn swimmers. During closed hours you may cross the park by the most direct route to reach the water, but you may not stay in it.

Hurricane Lowell closed the whole park on September 8, after more than an inch of sand covered roads and paths in places (City). Magic Island reopened on September 9 (City) and the rest of the park at 6:45 a.m. on September 10 (City). One piece is still shut: the Banyan Courtyard and portico at McCoy Pavilion, under renovation with a spring 2027 target (DPR).

The City dedicated the park in 1934 as “The People’s Park,” on reclaimed marshland, and built the beach in front of it from the mid-1950s. It now sees an estimated four million visits a year.

The swimming at Ala Moana is a dredged channel, not open ocean. The City’s own environmental study (2019 Final EIS) explains it: the beach sits on an old boat channel that was dredged and covered with sand, and an outer reef keeps the water calm, which is why families and lap swimmers use it. The same study names two hazards: the water “becomes deep after a certain distance,” catching inexperienced swimmers, and coral on the beach and the bottom can cut. It counted at least 49 rescues and three drownings at the beach in 2016.

Swim near a tower. Honolulu Ocean Safety staffs a substation and towers 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E and 1G (Magic Island) from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily (Ocean Safety). After heavy rain, check the state Department of Health’s water quality map before you go in; it had no advisory for Ala Moana on October 12.

Magic Island, officially ʻĀina Moana, is the 47-acre peninsula at the Diamond Head end of the park. It was built in 1962 for a resort that never came and was added to the park as open space instead (DPR). Its lagoon has a sandy bottom that slopes gently to deeper water (EIS). The danger there is the rock wall that protects it: surf breaks on the wall without warning, so stay off and away from it. Tower 1G watches the lagoon, and the Magic Island lot is closest.

Two surf breaks sit off the park, named in the City’s EIS. Kewalos runs from the Kewalo Basin channel across the ʻEwa end of the beach, and Ala Moana Bowls breaks east of Magic Island, in front of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor. Both are a long paddle and a walk across the reef, and both are summer breaks, when south swells arrive. Check the National Weather Service surf forecast and our Waikiki surf map, and for a first lesson see surf lessons in Waikiki.

The calmer water near Magic Island is where the paddleboard and beginner dive outfits meet: the scuba tour above gathers by Tower 1G, and the paddleboard yoga class below meets at the south end of the Magic Island lot.

The park has 40 picnic sites, first come, first served during park hours (DPR). The City’s 2019 count found six comfort stations and seven beach showers across the park and Magic Island, plus a lawn bowling green, canoe storage and two food concessions. There are 10 lit tennis courts (DPR) and pickleball on the old practice court.

All-terrain beach wheelchairs wait at the two L&L food concessions, at the Diamond Head and ʻEwa ends, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with beach mats in front of each; call (808) 941-8882 (DPR).

Walking: by our count it is about 20 minutes from Hilton Hawaiian Village to the park, over the Ala Wai Canal bridge on Ala Moana Boulevard, and about 40 minutes from central Waikīkī.

TheBus: the W Line from Kūhiō Avenue reaches the Ala Moana Center stop in 5 to 8 minutes and runs about every 15 minutes midday; cross Ala Moana Boulevard to the park. Route 42 stops at Atkinson Drive, by the Magic Island end (TheBus schedule data). Fares and HOLO cards are in our Getting Around Oahu guide.

Driving: about 8 minutes from central Waikīkī without traffic, by our count. The City’s 2019 study counted about 950 free stalls in the park’s lots, and City rules reserve park parking for park users. Ala Moana Center is across the boulevard, a shopping center with its own customer parking. More options are in our Waikiki parking guide.

No dogs or other animals: the Honolulu Police Department says the park “does not permit animals” (HPD). No staying in the park between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

A casual picnic needs nothing. A group of 50 or more, reserved tables or fields, amplified music, bounce houses or an organized event needs a City permit: call the park at (808) 768-4611, then file a Use of Park Facilities application at least three weeks ahead (DPR; permit office). Commercial photo shoots, weddings included, need a City filming permit (DPR rules).

Honolulu Marathon, Sunday, December 13, 2026: the race starts at 5 a.m. on Ala Moana Boulevard beside the park (Honolulu Marathon). Expect road closures early that morning.

Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi, Memorial Day: the ceremony runs every Memorial Day at Ala Moana Beach (Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi); in 2027 that is Monday, May 31. The organizers have not posted 2027 details yet.

For the beaches farther along, see our Waikīkī beaches guide and the best beaches on Oahu; the Waikiki map and things to do on Oahu guide have the rest of town.