Beach · West Maui Scenic Drive
Reef snorkeling starts close in, with a grassy picnic lawn behind.
Overview
Map
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
Kahekili Beach: Reef and Picnic Lawn“You’re nearing Kahekili Beach Park, with a reef close to shore and a grassy picnic lawn behind the sand. It’s a good choice if some of your group wants to snorkel while others relax under the covered pavilion.”
Plays as you drive up to Kahekili 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
Kahekili Beach Park is a public beach at the north end of Kāʻanapali, with a narrow sandy shore, palm-lined lawn and a nearshore reef. Come for snorkeling from shore and room to picnic; this resort-side beach is popular rather than secluded.
The reef runs close and parallel to the beach, and the commonly recommended snorkeling area lies straight out from the pavilion. The bottom turns rocky quickly beyond the sand, so entry can be awkward. Morning is often calmer before trade winds build, but shore break and wind change; let that day’s conditions decide. Turtles and reef fish are commonly reported, not guaranteed.
The local nickname points to the former Kāʻanapali Airstrip, built for the resort area and closed in 1986. Hotels later replaced the airstrip.
The shoreline sits within the larger Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area. State rules protect nenue, uhu, surgeonfish and sea urchins: do not take them, feed marine life or deliberately attract it.
From the lawn, the curved beach-access path and palms make a strong foreground for the ocean. From the shore, the reef-fringed water is the defining view.
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
EasyKāʻanapali Beach Walk5.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayAn easy coastal walk links two public parks by Black Rock.
ModerateKapalua Coastal Trail3.5 mi · 2 hr · 4.6 mi awayA paved bay walk that turns rugged at Hāwea Point.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayBlack Rock (Puʻu Kekaʻa)A black lava headland with shoreline snorkeling and a story.
Store · 1 mi awayWhalers VillageShops, dinner, and a walk to the beach in one easy stop.
Beach · 1.2 mi awayKāʻanapali BeachThree miles of sand, a beachwalk, and sunset over the Pacific.
Beach · 1.4 mi awayHonokōwai Beach ParkA shaded family stop with a reef-sheltered swimming pocket.
Beach · 1.8 mi awayHanakaʻōʻō Beach ParkA picnic beach with canoe-club life at Kāʻanapali's south end.
Beach · 2.3 mi awayPōhaku Park (S-Turns)A compact surf-side stop for turtles, sunsets, and picnics.
Beach · 2.4 mi awayWahikuli Wayside ParkA shaded oceanfront picnic stop where turtles often surface.
Beach · 3.4 mi awayKaʻopala BeachA tiny pocket beach with little sand left at high tide.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.
