Makua Beach

Makua Beach is a long wide white sand beach that curves for approximately one mile between two limestone points. The width of the beach is normally about 200 feet but varies seasonally because sand moves to the east end during the winter and to the west end during the summer. High surf, especially during the winter months, erodes the beach and moves sand into the deeper waters off shore. This process reverses during the summer when the sand accretes, rebuilding the beach. Like most of the beaches along the Waianae Coast, Makua Beach is not protected by an off shore coral reef, so the foreshore remains steep throughout the year from its direct exposure to high surf.

Of all the beautiful beaches on the Waianae Coast, Makua Beach is the most spectacular. Its long crescent of white sand fronts a deep, wide valley that is undeveloped and uninhabited. One of Makuas greatest attractions is that it is the only coastal valley on Oahu without housing or other development projects. Makua means parent and the valley is identified in Hawaiian creation chants as the home of gods and demigods.

A few of the activities at Makua Beach are bodyboarding, fishing and swimming.

High surf generates dangerous water conditions, including powerful shorebreaks, longshore currents, rip currents, and backwashes sweeping across the steep foreshore. The high surf season occurs during the winter and spring months, usually beginning in October and ending in May. No lifeguards are stationed here, so if you are a first-time visitor and you are not sure whether it is safe to go in the water, ask a local resident. If no one else is around, find a safer swimming beach, such as the Koolina Lagoons, especially if there is high surf.