Waihee Beach Park

Located in northern Maui, Waihee Beach Park - also known as Waihe’e Beach Park - is a two-acre park that has beige-colored sand, a sloping incline, driftwood, and many nearby trees. This beach is often dirty and is known to have considerable amounts of trash. Protesters objecting to the annexation of Hawaiian land by non-native Hawaiians have also set up camps in the forests around the beach - these protesters are generally harmless and do not pose any major safety issues.  

Although Waihee Beach Park does not have lifeguards, it has a few other amenities including restrooms (which also offer access to visitors with disabilities), showers, picnic tables, and a nearby grassy area.

Waihee Beach Park offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, picnicking, fishing, swimming, surfing, snorkeling, bodyboarding, skimboarding, paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, boating, jet-skiing, surf-skiing, and wakeboarding. The water near Waihee Beach Park is occasionally calm, which makes it ideal for beginner swimmers. Snorkelers also enter the water near Waihee Beach Park to explore its vibrant biodiversity - depending on the time of the year, you can view sea turtles in the water near Waihee Beach Park. Sea turtles are protected under a law named the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and harming them can result in a fine up to $50,000 and possible imprisonment. If you are planning to swim, surf, or snorkel in the water near Waihee Beach Park, we recommend being careful as the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents. You can also see many cats around Waihee Beach Park. If you are planning to fish in the water near Waihee Beach Park, we recommend ensuring compliance with the local fishing regulations - these regulations can be found on the website of the Division of Aquatic Resources (which is a part of the State of Hawai’i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources). Waihee Beach Park is ideal for beachgoers looking for a quieter beach experience as this beach sees fewer visitors than most other nearby Maui beaches. 

Waiehu Golf Course (also called Waiehu Municipal Golf Course) is an oceanfront 18-hole golf facility that is present near the beach - this golf course offers a fun and challenging experience and it also hosts many local golf leagues throughout the year. Waihe‘e Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge is also present near Waihee Beach Park - this refuge has a vibrant landscape comprising many habitats including wetlands and sand dunes. This refuge offers a fun hiking experience, along with an insight into the local biodiversity - you can see many kinds of birds in this refuge including peacocks, waxbills, and Java sparrows.

Getting to Waihee Beach Park can be difficult - to reach Waihee Beach Park, you need to drive along Kahekili Highway, which is a part of Hawaii Route 340 - this highway has roads that pass along steep and winding hillsides, and rocks are also known to fall on the highway’s roads from the hillsides above. From Kahekili Highway (which is a part of Hawaii Route 340), you need to turn towards another road called Halewaiu Road - Waihee Beach Park is present near the end of Halewaiu Road. A free parking lot is also available near the beach.

There are many attractions near Waihee Beach Park.  Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House (which means House of Display at Old Bailey House), formerly known as the Bailey House Museum, is a museum set in a historic 1833 house. This house was one of the first western-style houses in the town of Wailuku.  The museum premises have 2,000 artifacts that offer a unique insight into the art, culture, and history of Maui and Hawaii. It also has a historical photograph collection, a garden (named Chas Fisher Memorial Gardens with native and non-native Hawaiian plants), and a gift shop selling locally made crafts and books.  The museum also hosts many fun events throughout the year including a concert series called Moonlight Mele and Hawaiian Music and Lei Day Heritage Festival. Keopuolani Regional Park is a 110-acre recreational park that is one of the largest parks in the county of Maui.  The park has many amenities including an amphitheater, baseball/softball fields, picnic areas, a playground, restrooms, a soccer field, and drinking water facilities.  If you are looking for another attraction near Waihee Beach Park, Maui Arts & Cultural Center is a performing arts complex that hosts many Hawaiian cultural programs, music, theater, and dance performances, along with many exciting movie screenings and local and international art exhibitions.  The complex also offers arts-related classes.  

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Waihee Beach Park.  Miko’s Cuisine offers excellent Korean, Japanese, and Chinese dishes including sushi, noodles, bulgogi, kal bi jim, man doo guk, mapo tofu, and fried rice.  Bamboo Grille Maui offers unique Japanese-inspired dishes including breakfast dishes, sandwiches, noodles, loco moco, steaks, seafood, pork dishes, burgers, salads, and chicken katsu.  If you are looking for another exceptional and affordable restaurant near Waihee Beach Park, ‘Ula ‘Ula Cafe offers fantastic dishes for breakfast and lunch including fried rice, eggs, salads, hot dogs, poultry dishes, burgers, and loco moco.

If you are looking for a hotel near Waihee Beach Park, there are many great nearby options. The 5-Star The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua is an hour away by car and offers many amenities including six restaurants and bars, an upscale spa, a pool, and a fitness center with personal trainers. Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star Lumeria Maui Retreat Center which is 33 minutes away by car and offers many amenities including lush gardens, a restaurant, a lobby featuring artwork and antiques, a terrace, a yoga platform, fire pits, a pool, a meditation labyrinth, and a spa with private indoor treatment rooms. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Maui Seaside Hotel which offers many amenities including a restaurant offering Hawaiian cuisine, a pool, and guest laundry facilities. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Waihee Beach Park, Wailuku Guest House offers many amenities including a beach gear loaner facility, a pool, a sundeck, and beautiful gardens.