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Army Beach

Army Beach

Army Beach, Oahu

Now you may wonder why a beach in Hawaii would be called Army Beach (view panorama)×. The name doesn't exactly sound Hawaiian. Well, this beach was named for a military recreation center that was located here from 1970 to 1989. A surf site offshore bears the same name.

Army Beach is located on Oahu's northwestern shore, across from the entrance to the Dillingham Airfield. It is near the end of Farrington Highway and at the beginning of the Ka'ena Point State Park. The beach is backed by the Waianae Mountains and is quite scenic. It is a long, sandy beach with azure blue waters.

The ocean bottom is mainly rocky with a coral reef, but there is a small reef-free area that's ideal for a dip into the ocean if you would like to swim. Surfing is also possible here. In the winter months (November to March), the waves can reach heights of 15+ feet (4.5+ m), so this is no time for swimming. When the surf is up, strong currents make entering the ocean too dangerous.

Army Beach Overview

Located near the end of the road on Oahu's northwestern shore
Sandy beach with a small reef-free area (located straight down from the parking lot)
Named after a military recreation center

Reviews and Comments:


Be careful, I picked up some mighty mean infections swimming at laniakea. Pain, fever, all week long, evidently from the runoff at the base of the Stream
Kathleen A Brosnahan, Fri Jan 15, 2021


As a local here I will share with everyone reading this something tour companies wont tell you. The traffic here sucks, expect to sit in your car for about 60 minutes to travel 15 miles. More importantly as more and more tourists come to visit the added foot and vehicle traffic is wearing down our roads faster and faster. If you visit you'll discover the roads in the north shore are already terrible and full of potholes and cracks the added traffic is causing the roads to erode into the sea faster too. Additionally the amount of people constantly walking on the reef and getting suntan and sunscreen lotions in the water is making the water murky and have a slightly oily film to it which is killing the reef and causing less and less fish to go to parts of the beach and its changing the eco system that and most importantly not as many turtles are coming around to turtle beach. All this plus the aforementioned traffic is causing more and more locals to get frustrated and I have personally witnessed locals being hostile to visitors not to mention all the food trucks and illegal AirBnB that are popping up as well.
Daniel, Mon Dec 31, 2018


It was amazing to be in the water with the Sea Turtles. The volunteers were very helpful, answering everyone’s questions. Will DEFINITELY be back. AWESOME🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
Mikey, Thu Jan 04, 2018


saw so many turtles, weathering permitting you can even go in the water and swim amongst them. if you want to see sea turtles up close its a must! just please remember don't touch them
jbox, Wed Jan 04, 2017