The Polihale State Park beach is one-of-a-kind in that it is hardly visited by tourists, making it easy to drive up and down the wide beach and enjoy its full beauty in peace. Along the way we encountered only a handful of people, all of them were very nice and welcoming to us. However, we noticed that all of them were local people and that they were pleasantly surprised that non-locals had actually found this hidden gem of a beach. The water here is extremely rough due to the high surf and intense rip currents. The water should be avoided on most days unless you are an extremely good swimmer who has experience in the ocean. We saw a number of surfers along the way and they looked to be riding some wicked waves.
People can also camp anywhere along this stretch of beach as we saw a few tents scattered here and there. However, at one point it seemed that the only other living creatures around us were the crabs running to and from the ocean edge. The state park offers several amenities such as rest rooms, showers, picnic tables, and a water fountain. The park is fairly remote and visitors should keep this in mind by packing plenty of water and food.
After a wonderful day of exploring the western side of Kauai, it was time for us to head back to our cottage but not before watching a magnificent Hawaiian sunset. As we sat on the beach and took in the entrancing Hawaiian sky, I couldn’t help but think of the natural splendor of this island and all of the different aspects of Kauai that truly make it an island paradise.
Related – An Odyssey of Adventure
– Special thanks to Mario Santarsiere for his contribution of this article and photos
* Published by JPFreek Adventure Magazine – The leader in Jeep and adventure enthusiast publications.