Kokololio Beach Park

Kokololio Beach Park is a scenic and tranquil beach on Oahu's windward coast. Known for its beautiful shoreline and cultural significance, it offers swimming in summer, camping with a permit, and striking views of offshore surf and cliffs.

Kokololio Beach Park, Oahu

Kokololio, meaning "gusty" in Hawaiian, is the name of a valley and a stream, located north of the town Hau'ula on Oahu's northeastern shore. The beach park (view panorama) × lies at the foot of the valley and next to the stream. Kokololio Beach is a nice stretch of sand and during the summer months, swimming is possible here. During weekends, especially in the summer months, local residents like to camp at Kokololio.The beach park is a county camp site (view panorama) × , but permits are required. More info about how to get a permit.

In the winter time, it's a nice spot to take some great pictures of the pounding shorebreak or to go surfing or bodyboarding. Offshore is a popular surf spot named CYO's, which stands for Catholic Youth Organization. The CYO used the house that stood once there (from the Cooke family) as a retreat before it was bought by the City and taken down to develop the park in 1991.

The limestone sea cliff that reaches into the ocean on the northern end of the beach is called Pali Kiloi'a, meaning "fish-spotter cliff" in the Hawaiian language. The ancient Hawaiians used this cliff to locate fish in the bay. From up here they gave directions to net fishermen in their canoes. The area is still a popular site for fishermen today, who fish for o'io, moi, papio and ulua (giant trevally).

Editor's note: There are a few homes at the north end of the beach. When we walked along the beach there, suddenly two large dogs came running towards us from one of the beach houses. Their owner wasn't in sight. The dogs were very territorial and only left us alone after we yelled at them. We felt threatened and left immediately. If you're visiting Kokololio Beach, you may want to avoid the beach area near the homes because the home owners don't seem to attend their dogs and there is no fence, so the dogs have access to the public beach.

Key Features of Kokololio Beach Park

Seasonal swimming: Calm waters during summer make it suitable for swimming; surf can be rough in winter
CYO surf break: Offshore surf spot favored by locals and named after the Catholic Youth Organization
Camping permitted: County campsite available by permit; popular for weekend locals
Historic fishing site: Pali Kiloi'a cliff once used by ancient Hawaiians to spot fish
Limited facilities: Includes restrooms, showers, picnic areas, and parking; no lifeguards

Reviews and Comments:


I think Kekela's beach, which is part of the same beach but more on the south end of it, is a little bit nicer, but Kokololio is still a really nice place. Both together make up one of the most beautiful beaches on the windward side of Oahu, and the shade of the trees by the beach is nice to have too, as well as the park. As the other comment makes clear, it's a spot frequented by locals, though most locals are perfectly friendly, there is the occasional one who is not. Just keep aware, but having said that, this is mostly a family beach and a safe place.
Eric Rosenfeld, Sun Sep 21, 2014


Saw local teens snatch a purse off the beach while the owner was in the water. Chased and caught up with the grabber. He didn't want to give up the purse until he was outnumbered. Still at large.
Jeff, Sept 19, 2010