Mālaekahana State Recreation Area and Goat Island

Facts from State Parks, DOFAW, Honolulu Ocean Safety and the Land Board, checked Oct 13, 2026.

State Parks lists one set of hours: 7 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. in winter and 7 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. in summer, with no entrance fee (DLNR park page). Winter hours began the day after Labor Day; summer hours return April 1.

The park is two sections about 0.7 miles apart. Kalanai Point is the southern one, nearest Lāʻie. The 36-acre Kahuku section to the north has been under a major improvement project since August 1, 2023, and State Parks says public access and camping there are affected while Kalanai Point is not (DLNR; 2016 Final EA). On October 9, 2026, State Parks asked the Board of Land and Natural Resources to approve a 30-year lease of the Kahuku section to Mālaekahana Beach Campground LLC, its operator before the closure, with a first phase running November 2026 to October 2027 (Land Board item E-1).

State Parks’ park notices page posted on October 23 that the Kahuku section’s parking lot is closed from October 26, 2026 to January 31, 2027 for construction of a new lot. The notice names only the Kahuku section. Check the page before the drive.

State Parks calls it a wooded beach park with swimming, bodysurfing and shore fishing (DLNR). No State Parks or City page we found rates the beach for currents or shore break, so this guide does not either.

No lifeguard. Honolulu Ocean Safety’s list of every Oʻahu tower (Ocean Safety) has none at Mālaekahana, or between Tower 9 at Kualoa Regional Park and Tower 25 at Sunset Beach. Swim with someone and stay out when the water is rough. Our swimming safety guide has the daily checks.

The park is on the windward (northeast) coast (State Parks). The National Weather Service surf forecast lists east-facing shores on their own line. After heavy rain, check the Department of Health’s water quality map: brown water advisories have covered this coast before, including Kahuku to Kaʻaʻawa in the fall of 2022. On October 13, 2026, none covered Mālaekahana.

Mokuʻauia, called Goat Island, is a 12.5-acre islet in Lāʻie Bay, just offshore from the park. The Division of Forestry and Wildlife lists birdwatching and swimming as the activities (DOFAW). ʻUaʻu kani, the wedge-tailed shearwater, is often found there, and Hawaiian monk seals are among the animals DOFAW names for the islet.

The rules, under administrative rules Chapter 126: access is limited to the area below the high-water mark, and the islet is closed from sunset to sunrise. No fires, dogs, camping, tents, tarps or other structures at any time; commercial activity needs a permit. DOFAW gives the reason for the same rule on Popoʻia, off Kailua: it keeps visitors from trampling seabird burrows.

The crossing. Visitors reach the islet through the water. Neither State Parks nor DOFAW publishes a route, depth, tide window or current information, so we give none. Treat it as an open-water swim over reef with no lifeguard on either side, and skip it when the water is rough.

If you see a monk seal, NOAA Fisheries says stay at least 50 feet away on land and in the water, and 150 feet from a mother with a pup. Turtles get 10 feet (NOAA Fisheries).

State Parks’ page lists picnicking and camping and says little more about Kalanai Point. The visitor site hawaiistateparks.org, which DLNR does not run, lists restrooms, showers, picnic tables, trash cans and drinking fountains (listing); confirm them when you arrive. At the Kahuku section, State Parks is building a comfort station, outdoor showers, accessible facilities and day-use and overnight parking (Land Board item E-1).

The shade comes from ironwood trees along the beach, which the 2016 Final EA lists among the trees on the Kahuku section: a dim, needled floor behind bright sand. Branches are a hazard in a wooded camp. State Parks closed the Kahuku section on November 20, 2014 over “falling tree limbs in the camping area.” On a windy day, keep tents and chairs out from under dead branches.

Camping is by State Parks permit on Explore Outdoor Hawaiʻi, which replaced the old reservation system on February 1, 2026. You need an account, and permits open no more than 30 days ahead. It costs $20 per campsite per night for Hawaiʻi residents and $30 for non-residents, for up to 10 people, with a limit of five consecutive nights (State Parks, Oʻahu camping).

Oʻahu has its own rule: no state-park camping on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The Mālaekahana page says “Friday through Wednesday,” so check the calendar when you book. For help with a Kalanai Point reservation, call (808) 587-0300.

These are tent sites. State Parks says Oʻahu’s campgrounds are tent camping, and sleeping in vehicles in campground lots is not allowed, campers and vans included. Cabins: State Parks lists none for Oʻahu. The Kahuku section’s old cabins closed with it, and cabin rentals are among the uses its lessee would be allowed to build (Land Board item E-1).

From Waikīkī: about 37 miles and roughly 80 minutes without traffic, by our routing: H-1 west to the Likelike Highway, then Kahekili and Kamehameha Highways (Route 83) north past Kāneʻohe and Lāʻie. Our East Side Oahu drive covers the coast from Waikīkī through Waimānalo, and the North Shore Oahu guide picks up past Kahuku.

From the Kahuku shrimp trucks: the park is about two miles south of Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck’s original stand at 56-505 Kamehameha Highway, about six minutes by our routing. Our North Shore food trucks guide sorts the Kahuku lots. State Parks asks you to drive and park only on designated roads and areas.

State Parks’ statewide rules apply (DLNR rules). No alcohol, no smoking or e-cigarettes, no drones, and no generators without a special use permit. Pets are not allowed on beaches, in swimming areas or in campgrounds. Report violations to 643-DLNR (643-3567); in an emergency, call 911.

Leave historic and archaeological features alone. Kalanai Point is one: the 2016 environmental assessment describes the beachfront there as a recorded State site with a koʻa, a fishing shrine, and notes that burials are known in the sand deposits along this coast (2016 Final EA). Do not dig, and do not move or stack stones.

It suits families and groups who want a free, shaded beach, tent campers who book ahead, and confident swimmers who follow Goat Island’s rules. It does not suit anyone who wants a lifeguard in sight, a beach near Waikīkī, or a cabin. For the rest of the day, start with things to do on Oahu, and for more sand, the best beaches on Oahu.