Best time to go
The amount of sand changes through the year. Summer can leave a wider sandy shore; winter surf can strip it back and expose cinder and boulders. The red color is patchy, so don't expect the whole beach to look bright red.
Overview
About Kōkī Beach
Why stop
- Red cinder, surf and a palm-topped offshore island make a distinctive coastal view
Heads up
- Rip-current risk and steep surf make it a poor swimming plan
Map
Where it is
Loading the Road to Hana map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Road to Hana Tour Guide
Your drive to Kōkī Beach, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Road to Hana. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Road to Hana audio tourRecorded for this place
Kōkī Beach and Huli Huli Chicken0:00 / 0:31
“You're nearing Kōkī Beach, where a red cinder bluff and palm-topped ʻAlau Island frame the shore.”
Plays as you drive up to Kōkī Beach in the Parkwolf Road to Hana Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Hāmoa Beach’s Salt-and-Pepper Sand
- Hasegawa General Store and Hāna Supplies
- ʻUlu: Savory or Sweet
- Hāna Bay’s Picnic Shore
- 48 audio storiesacross Road to Hana’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Hawaiian Monk Seal, Green Sea Turtle, Frigatebird, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 13 trails, 39 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Kōkī Beach
A coastal stop south of HānaKōkī Beach is a small roadside beach park on Haneoo Road, reached from Hāna Highway near mile…
Kōkī Beach is a small roadside beach park on Haneoo Road, reached from Hāna Highway near mile markers 49 and 50. It's known for a red cinder bluff, a palm-topped offshore island and a local surf break. I'd stop for the shoreline and a picnic, but don't plan on swimming: the surf can be steep, rip currents are reported and there are no lifeguards.
Picnic and a nearby food stopThe park has a grassy picnic area, ironwood shade, tables and barbecue grills.
The park has a grassy picnic area, ironwood shade, tables and barbecue grills. A nearby stand known for Huli Huli chicken is often paired with the stop, but it's separate from the beach facilities.
Look toward ʻAlau IslandPalm-topped ʻAlau Island sits offshore to the south, with seabirds, including ʻiwa, around it.
Palm-topped ʻAlau Island sits offshore to the south, with seabirds, including ʻiwa, around it. For a shoreline photo, point south and keep some surf or dark shore rock in the foreground so the island has context. The red cinder bluff gives you a contrasting view back toward the north end.
Ka Iwi o PeleThe cinder hill by the north end is called Ka Iwi o Pele, “the bones of Pele.”
The cinder hill by the north end is called Ka Iwi o Pele, “the bones of Pele.” A local Hawaiian legend links it to Pele's battle with her older sister, the ocean goddess Nāmakaokahaʻi; that's a traditional story, not a geological account. The hill is private and its loose cinder is unstable, so admire it from the public shoreline.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Road to Hana
10 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
127 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
86 sightingsFrigatebirdMost seen around noonSighting map
17 sightingsRed-footed BoobyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
73 sightingsNene (Hawaiian Goose)Most seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsHawaiian StiltMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Road to Hana. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
