Visiting Ke’e Beach in Kauai

The first thing to know when planning a visit to Ke’e Beach in Kauai is reservations are required. 

Ke’e Beach is part of Haena State Park, which requires reservations and an entrance fee to enter. You can choose from reservations that include parking, or if those are sold out, there is a shuttle option. From the parking lot you will walk through the rainforest to access the beach.

The beach is a sandy bottom lagoon. There are lifeguards and bathrooms with showers. 

The west end of the beach ends with piles of volcanic rock.

I love looking at rocks on the beach. They make for some lovely photos.

As you walk down the beach, the sandy shore gives way to volcanic rock, which creates little tidepools that you can explore.

As you continue to walk, you will come to smooth sandy shores, that stretch as far as the eye can see.

One thing of note, the lifeguard only guards the bay area. If you wander down the beach, you are on your own. Swimming is not advised here in the winter. We were here in November and the water was choppy enough that we stayed out.

I happen to love watching waves crash into the beach, so I was wishing that they would have been bigger.

If you happen to love watching them, too, here’s a short video for you.

While wandering down the beach, we also discovered a young monk seal taking a little snooze. They are one of the rarest and most endangered animals in the world. There are only about 1,500 of them left in Hawai’i. They are protected by law, so keep your distance and use zoom on your phone or a telephoto lens.

We spent approximately an hour at the beach, after our hike on the Kalalau Trail. I could see spending more time here, especially in the summer when snorkeling is good, and the water is placid.

Things to Know Before You Go:

1. Reservations are required. They become available 30 days out. Check here for more information.
2. Reservations are given in time slots, if you think you may want to stay longer, you must reserve more than one spot.
3. Bathrooms, showers and lifeguards are present in the bay area, beyond that, you are on your own.
4. If you want to hike Kalalau Trail, as well as visit the beach, only one reservation is required. However, if you think you’ll need more time, you’ll need to reserve that extra time.
5. Swimming is better during the summer, the surf gets high in the winter which can make this beach a dangerous place to swim.

Our next stop of the day, after lunch, was Hanalei Beach. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life. 

All photos are available at Alamy. 

More Hawaiian Beaches

Anini Beach – Kauai

Poipu and Brennecke’s Beaches – Kauai

Hapuna Beach – Hawaii

Green Sand Beach – Hawaii

Napali and Kapalua Beaches – Maui

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