Kanaha Beach Park
Kanaha is one of the premier windsurfing beaches in the world, second on Maui only to Ho'okipa Beach Park. When the swell is up, it's also popular with surfers. In recent years, kiteboarding has gained popularity as well.
The beach actually extends much further than the boundries of the park and is popular with locals who come here to swim, fish, surf, windsurf, kiteboard, and play volleyball. Because of its location far from the tourist centers of Maui, few tourists ever visit this beach, except the occasional adventurous cruise ship passenger (the ships dock about 1.5 miles away) or backpacker.
The beach is very large, and you can almost certainly find a secluded area any day of the week.
A/K/A
Some people call the portion of the beach closer to Kahului "Kite Beach", due to the number of Kite Surfers who use that part of the beach.Hours of Operation
Kanaha Beach park is open from 6:30am to 10:00pm daily. The lifeguard stations are manned from 8:00am to 4:30pm. The camping area is open to permitted campers overnight, but is closed the last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each month.Weather Forecast
(As of 329 PM HST Wednesday July 11 2007)Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 70 to 75. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Thursday: Sunny. Highs 79 to 88. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 71 to 76. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny. Highs 80 to 89. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 70 to 75. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny. Highs 80 to 90. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 70 to 75. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny. Highs 79 to 88. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 70 to 75. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Monday: Sunny. Highs 79 to 88. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 70 to 75. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny. Highs 79 to 88. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 70 to 75. Northeast winds around 10 mph.
Sunrise: 5:50am Sunset: 7:08pm. Visit Maui Weather Today for a daily discussion of the current weather patterns affecting Maui. For the surf conditions, visit the Maui Surf Report.
See our Webcams page for up to the minute conditions all around Maui!
Getting There
Kanaha Beach Park is behind the airport, off of Amala Place in Kahului, but if you ask where "Amala Place" is, no one will know (there is no street sign to tell you the name of this road). To get to Kanaha, take the Hana Highway towards Wailuku and turn right onto Hobron Avenue. Turn right onto the first real road you come to (about a quarter mile). Kanaha Beach Park is on the left a bit over a mile down the road. The paved driveways on the left after the sewage treatment plant are all entrances to the park. There are numerous other dirt roads that you can also take to access other portions of the park.
Map
You may also view a more detailed full-screen version of this map on Google Maps.
Facilities
Kanaha has:- Two cement-block bathhouses with toilets and sinks (there are no lights inside the bathhouse adjacent to parking lot #1, however)
- Porta-potties, at the end of the campground parking lot (which might be a better bet than the bathhouse)
- Lots of picnic tables with barbeque pits
- Outdoor showers
- A camping area (camping permits required), with its own dirt parking lot (the other parking lots are closed after the main park closes at 10:00pm)
- A canoe halau used by the Lae'ula O Kai Canoe Club
- Three volleyball courts
- Two lifeguard stations (lifeguards are on duty from 8am - 4:30pm)
- Payphones near the bathhouse
As of November 2005, there is a paved sidewalk from the parking lot to the volleyball courts, making them wheelchair accessible. There are plans to put a wheelchair accessible picnic table on the cement pad at the end of this sidewalk.
What's Nearby
There is literally nothing nearby except the airport, car rental agencies, and the sewage treatment plant (don't worry, the prevailing current carries any discharge away from the beach park). Across the street from the park is undeveloped kiawe woods.Map
Copyright 2006 by Maui Beach Guide.