Beach · West Maui Scenic Drive
Ironwood shade, white sand, and winter surf on Honokahua Bay.
Overview
D.T. Fleming Beach Park is a 3.4-acre county park on Honokahua Bay in Kapalua, with a long sandy beach backed by ironwood trees. It’s an easy place to walk the shore, sit in the shade or make a picnic of it. Winter swells also bring surfers and bodyboarders. I’d stop for the beach and open coast, but choose a more sheltered cove if calm swimming is your main goal.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop hereMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for West Maui Scenic Drive. 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 West Maui Scenic Drive audio tourRecorded for this place
D.T. Fleming: Beach, Burgers and Ridge Walk“You’re coming up on D.T. Fleming Beach Park, a long sandy shore backed by ironwood trees. I’d choose it for a beach walk or a break in the shade.”
Plays as you drive up to D.T. Fleming Beach Park in the Parkwolf West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
The park has 11 picnic tables, grills and an open lawn, plus public restrooms and an outdoor shower. There’s lifeguard service, a wheelchair ramp to the beach and accessible restrooms. The ramp is documented, but details about a firm route across the sand aren’t clear.
The beach is a long white-sand strand on Honokahua Bay, but the shorebreak can be rough. Winter swells make this a bodyboarding and surfing beach; visitors also describe waves that make casual swimming uncomfortable. Conditions vary, and entry is rocky in some spots.
From the sand, frame the long shoreline beneath the ironwood branches with surf along the foreground. A lower view near the rocky edge adds texture and shows the contrast between pale sand and dark shore rocks.
Wildlife
152 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
71 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
23 sightingsSpinner DolphinMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
401 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
14 sightingsHawksbill Sea TurtleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
92 sightingsWedge-tailed ShearwaterMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across West Maui Scenic Drive. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateMahana Ridge Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · At the trailheadA reservoir turnaround makes this rough ridge climb manageable.
ModeratePine Loop6.3 mi · 4 hr · 0.1 mi awayA short Cook pine circuit is a long climb up Mahana Ridge.
EasyDragon’s Teeth Trail0.7 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayA short coastal walk to jagged lava fins at Makaluapuna Point.
ModerateKapalua Village Cardio Loop1.3 mi · 54 min · 0.6 mi awayA hilly circuit through forest reclaimed from the old golf course.
ModerateKapalua Coastal Trail3.5 mi · 2 hr · 1.1 mi awayA paved bay walk that turns rugged at Hāwea Point.
EasyHonolua Bay Access Trail0.8 mi · 24 min · 1.3 mi awayA shaded forest walk to a rocky, protected bay.
ModeratePineapple Loop0.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 2 mi awayA short pineapple side loop with a long uphill approach.
EasyʻĀkia Loop0.6 mi · 30 min · 2.4 mi awayA short loop on the Mahana Ridge trailSight · 0.4 mi awayDragon’s TeethTooth-shaped lava fins rise above a rough, wave-washed shore.
Beach · 0.6 mi awayOneloa BeachA quiet quarter-mile beach on the Kapalua Coastal Trail.
Beach · 0.7 mi awayMokulēʻia Bay (Slaughterhouse Beach)A cliff-framed cove where the surf decides the day.
Scenic pullout · 1 mi awayHonolua Bay Scenic LookoutBlue water and green cliffs, seen from a quick roadside pull-off.
Beach · 1 mi awayHonolua BayForest walk, coral-rich reef, and slippery rocky entry.
Beach · 1.1 mi awayKapalua Bay BeachA crescent cove where coral reefs put snorkeling front and center.
Restaurant · 1.1 mi awayMerriman’s KapaluaPlan dinner around the open-air lanai and long ocean view.
Beach · 1.2 mi awayNāpili Bay BeachA sandy crescent for reef swims and west-facing sunsets.Parkwolf’s West Maui Scenic Drive ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
