Polihale Beach Walk

Polihale Beach Walk traverses the southern end of the longest beach in Hawaii, a 17-mile continuous stretch of golden sand extending from the northern boundary of Polihale State Park down to the resort areas of the west shore. The walk begins at the end of a long unpaved road through sugar cane fields and immediately delivers the sense of remote wilderness that defines this special place. At the northern terminus of the beach, the sheer Na Pali cliffs rise directly from the sand, creating one of the most dramatic beach-to-mountain transitions anywhere in the Pacific. The beach is extremely wide, backed by high sand dunes, and subject to powerful surf that makes swimming dangerous except during the calmest summer conditions. Monk seals occasionally haul out on the beach, and the remote setting feels worlds away from the more developed areas of Kauai. Sunset views from Polihale are legendary, with the cliffs of Na Pali glowing gold and orange as the sun descends over the Pacific. The park road requires careful driving and is best navigated with a four-wheel-drive vehicle during wet conditions.