Haleiwa Pro 2026: Where to Watch, Park and Eat

Facts from WSL (Oct 6, 2026), Honolulu Ocean Safety and Hawaii Ocean Safety, checked October 18, 2026. Drive time is our own routing check.

WSL’s October 6 release puts the HTA Haleiwa Pro Presented by Hurley at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park from November 5 to 14 (WSL), and its schedule rates it QS 2,000 (WSL schedule). The longboarders join the Qualifying Series field there: it is Stop No. 1 of their season and a route to the 2027 WSL Longboard Tour. Finn McGill won both the Sunset and Haleiwa events in 2025, according to the same release.

Ten days is a window, not ten days of heats. For the 2024 edition WSL wrote that “event organizers will select the best four days of the event window to run competition” (WSL, 2024). The 2026 release does not say how many days will run and gives no heat times as of October 18, so treat any single day as a maybe until WSL calls it.

WSL says the wave’s “ability to hold swell and provide a high-performance canvas can make or break a competitor’s hopes.” The release says Sunset, Haleiwa and Pipeline all return to the regional schedule this winter, and its VP of tours and events, Robin Erb, thanked the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hurley and Billabong for backing the events.

“New for 2026, a live broadcast will bring this event to the world,” WSL says, on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL App (WSL). The release lists no broadcast schedule. Open the WSL watch page or the app when the window opens on November 5 and check it each morning to see whether the day is on before you drive to Haleiwa.

The competition is at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park, on Haleiwa Road about 350 meters past Haleiwa Boat Harbor (our math from OpenStreetMap). The City’s lifeguard Tower 31 is at 66-105 Haleiwa Road (Honolulu Ocean Safety). HTA’s tourism site says winter waves at the park “can reach heights over 25 feet” (GoHawaii). WSL has published no spectator map, entry point or admission price for the event, and we found none from the City as of October 18.

• The shoreline. OpenStreetMap shows the sand beach, a restroom and three parking lots within about 150 meters of each other along the water side of the park. One visitor guide names “the long, low grassy area in front of the main break” as where watchers gather (Honolulu Travels), and another says the park is “crowded during winter contests” (Hawaii Guide). Neither describes the 2026 layout.
• Restrooms. GoHawaii lists restrooms at the park. The North Shore Chamber’s restroom map marks public restrooms with showers and changing rooms there and at Haleiwa Boat Harbor, and marks the Haleiwa Store Lots restrooms as for customers only.
• Turtles. NOAA’s sanctuary office photographed a green sea turtle near the park (NOAA photo). NOAA Fisheries asks you to stay “at least 10 feet (3 meters) away” on land and in the water (NOAA).

Tower 31 is staffed 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily (Hawaii Ocean Safety). The State describes winter on north shores as “consistent huge and dangerous swells” and says “inexperienced/novice surfers and swimmers of any skill level should avoid entering the water at these beaches during high-surf conditions” (Hawaii Ocean Safety).

The National Weather Service issues a High Surf Advisory for north-facing shores at 15 feet and a Warning at 25 feet, measured as “the full face surf height, from the trough to the crest of the wave” (NWS Honolulu). For this park GoHawaii adds: “The wave break can be dangerous during low tide” and “strong rip currents can occur around the deeper parts of the breakwater.”

• Read the signs. The High Surf sign means “if you are uncertain about your abilities, avoid entering the ocean during high surf.” At a No Swimming sign, “beachgoers should not enter the water” (beach warning signs).
• Stay off wet rock. Ocean Safety says “do not climb on wet rocks or ledges” and to check with a lifeguard about conditions (safety in the ocean).
• Check conditions. HawaiiBeachSafety.com is updated every 15 minutes from National Weather Service forecasts. Our guides to swimming safety and watching big North Shore surf cover the rest.

GoHawaii lists parking at the park (GoHawaii). We found no official stall count, rate or time limit for it, and neither WSL nor the State has posted a parking plan or a road notice for the event as of October 18. HDOT posts highway closures. Haleiwa Store Lots, about 600 meters from the park, lists 95 stalls on its own site (Haleiwa Store Lots) and does not state a fee or a limit, so ask a merchant before leaving a car there.

Bus times are computed from TheBus feed for the weekday, Saturday and Sunday schedules (TheBus GTFS). Our getting around Oahu guide covers buses and rideshare, and renting a car on Oahu covers the drive.

Hours are from each business’s own site (Haleiwa Joe’s, Haleiwa Bowls, Matsumoto, Island Vintage, Kua Aina), read October 18. Distances are straight lines from the park’s center, our math, so the walk along Haleiwa Road and Kamehameha Highway is longer. Haleiwa Joe’s is dinner only. For shrimp trucks, see our North Shore food trucks guide.

The Sunset Pro window closes three days before the Haleiwa window opens. All four dates are WSL’s (release; QS schedule; Championship Tour schedule). Our Banzai Pipeline guide covers that break without contest dates.

On days with no heats, the highway runs on to Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay Beach Park and Turtle Beach, and Haleiwa Town has a walking tour guide coming. The full list is in our North Shore guide and what to do on the North Shore, and the month is in our Oahu in November guide.