Kaʻena Point State Park: Trail, Rules and Wildlife

The park is the gateway to the Natural Area Reserve at the point (DLNR). The reserve dates to 1983 and protects one of the last intact dune ecosystems in the main Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiian tradition knows the point as leina a kaʻuhane, the “leaping place of souls” (DOFAW brochure). The trail is an old railroad bed and dirt road (DLNR), and the only way to the point is on foot (gohawaii.com); the reserve also allows bicycles.

The two trailheads sit on opposite sides of the point, on separate roads. DLNR’s directions to Mokulēʻia are H-2 to Kaukonahua Road, then Farrington Highway (Route 930) past Waialua, about a mile beyond Camp Erdman (DLNR). The drive times are our own (OSRM), so add time for traffic.

DLNR’s October 8 notice, written for the Hurricane Nolo and Hurricane Lowell recovery, says the Keawaʻula trail “remains CLOSED” (DLNR notices). It lists no closure of the Mokulēʻia walk. Vehicle access past the Mokulēʻia gate is murkier: the park page says the road reopened to permit holders on October 6, and the notices page says it closed on October 8 (DLNR park page). Check both the morning you go.

Pick Mokulēʻia. Right now it is the only open choice, and even after Keawaʻula reopens it is the easier first walk: DLNR describes a flat coastal plain, while the Waiʻanae side runs along boulder beaches where the road has eroded.

• First visit or kids: Mokulēʻia, with a plan for sun, wind and water.
• Cyclists: either side; the reserve allows foot and bicycle travel only (State Parks record).
• Shoreline walkers: Keawaʻula, once DLNR reopens it, for the boulder beaches and blowholes.
• Staying on the Waiʻanae coast: Keawaʻula is 6.5 miles and 14 minutes from Makaha by our routing, but Mokulēʻia is the open trail.
• Guided walks: none; tours in the reserve need a special use permit (DOFAW).

Hours: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. From 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. there is no stopping or parking from the Dillingham airfield entrance to the vehicle gate (DLNR).

No dogs, not even on a leash. DLNR says they frighten nesting birds and have caused mass deaths of seabirds (DLNR, 2019). Only service animals may enter (DLNR trail page).

Stay on the trail. No drones, open fires, camping, smoking or alcohol, and pack out what you pack in (State Parks record). Report violations to 643-DLNR (DLNR rules).

Vehicles: motor vehicles are prohibited in the reserve, and driving the road past the Mokulēʻia gate takes a State permit with a 2026 Gold decal. Walking in needs none of that. A predator-proof fence built in 2011 encloses 59 acres to keep cats, rats and mongoose away from the nests.

Albatross (mōlī). Laysan albatross nest on open ground. DLNR says courtship starts “usually middle to late fall” (DOFAW). Its 2019 release says egg-laying began at the start of December and counts 106 pairs trying to breed in 2018 (DLNR). Stay on the marked trail, watch from a distance and respect posted signs. DLNR gives no foot distance, so if a bird reacts to you, back off.

Shearwaters (ʻuaʻu kani). They nest in burrows in the dunes (DLNR). Leave the trail and you might step through a burrow, hurting yourself and the bird inside (DOFAW).

Monk seals. They visit the reserve regularly (DLNR). DLNR and NOAA both say 50 feet on land and in the water; NOAA says 150 feet for a mother and pup (NOAA Fisheries). Offshore, spinner dolphins get 50 yards.

DLNR lists falling rocks, dangerous shorebreak and strong current as the hazards (State Parks record) and says to stay away from the wave-exposed coast (DLNR). The tide pools at Mokulēʻia sit on that coast, and there are no lifeguards. The state tourism site calls water activities there “extremely dangerous” and “highly discouraged” (gohawaii.com). Keawaʻula allows swimming “only during calm conditions in the summer” (DLNR).

Winter brings extremely high surf to many north and west shore beaches, and north swells can wrap to western shores in summer (Hawaii Ocean Safety). Our guide to whether it is safe to swim on Oʻahu today covers how to read a day. On land the problem is heat: DLNR says hat, sunscreen and plenty of water.

We found no published break-in count for either lot, so we are not calling Kaʻena a hot spot. The State and the police give the same island-wide advice: lock your car and take valuables with you (DOFAW), and keep bags out of plain view (HPD). Park where the pavement ends, and not on the road after 7 p.m.

Yokohama Bay is the common name for the beach at the Waiʻanae end of the park; DLNR lists board and body surfing for experts and swimming only in calm summer water. Makaha Beach Park is the next beach south. On the Mokulēʻia side you pass Mokulēʻia Beach Park and Dillingham Airfield, and Haleʻiwa is about 22 minutes from the trailhead by our routing.

Our North Shore guide covers that coast, with Shark’s Cove, Turtle Beach and the food trucks for after the walk. The things to do on Oʻahu guide has the rest of the island.

Go if a flat, exposed 5-mile round trip to a seabird colony sounds like a good morning. Skip it for a beach, shade or an easy lookout.

• Hikers and wildlife watchers: yes, from Mokulēʻia, in late fall and winter for the most birds.
• Families: yes if the kids can walk 5 miles in the sun. Otherwise try the Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail, a 2-mile round trip.
• Beach and swim travelers: no; the east side drive has gentler stops.
• Short on time: probably not; it is over an hour each way from Waikīkī. The Aiea Loop Trail is closer.
• Anyone with a dog: no, even on a leash.