Papohaku Beach Park, Molokai Hawaii

Yes that’s right and if you want seclusion, Papohaku Beach is the spot. On the west end of Molokai, Papohaku Beach seldom has more than a few visitors on any given day and the beach is large enough to hold the entire population of Molokai without even getting crowded. Papohaku Beach is as close as you can get to the deserted tropical island of your dreams. Located on the west end of Molokai, which itself is between Oahu and Maui, Papohaku Beach also offers swimming, snorkeling, bodysurfing, body boarding, and surfing.

Visitors can find drinking water, restrooms, barbeque grills, outdoor and indoor showers, camping facilities, and picnic facilities at Papohaku Beach Park. There is not any electricity, phones, first aid, or park office. The best place to check out active volcanoes is in Hawaii is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park located on the big island. The park has several active volcanoes, hiking trails, bike trails, and amenities. In addition to the individually owned house sites there is a preserve of open space with a wide range of terrain from the ocean front park, open grassland to the pine and eucalyptus forest of the higher elevations. Fortunately, the park rangers never came around those 2 days.

Golf, snorkeling, swimming, surfing, jogging, biking, horseback riding, fine dining and even a movie theater are all nearby for your enjoyment. Sorry, no traffic signals; our only city lights shimmer on the horizon from Honolulu. Make sure you’ve got swimming chops before diving in--Papohaku’s deserted beauty can be deceiving. Two minute walk to 4 beaches, boats, & dreamy shallow ocean swim/fish ponds & reefs.

It was a treat to get away from the hustle of the city for a few days (it’s funny that life can be so different on Moloka’i when it’s only about 25 miles from O’ahu). We saw the dry west side, with its monstrous Papohaku Beach; the lush east side featuring Halawa Valley, the entirety of which may as well be a botanical garden; the main city (ahem, town) of Kaunakakai on the south shore; the cool uplands of the north side, where we stayed at a quiet B&B in Kalae; and the above-noted Kalaupapa Peninsula, to which we hiked three miles and nearly 1,700′ of elevation each way. I photographed Papohaku Beach, the isolated three-mile-long beach, hiked jungle trails to waterfalls in the Halawa Valley, and photographed rain forests covering the mountains of the eastern end of Moloka’i.

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Tags: Active Volcanoes, Ahu, Bike Trails, Body Boarding, Days Golf, Deserted Tropical Island, Eucalyptus Forest, Fish Ponds, Halawa Valley, Hawaii Volcanoes National, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hiking Trails, Molokai Hawaii, Ocean Front, Open Grassland, Park Rangers, Picnic Facilities, Seclusion, Shallow Ocean, Volcanoes National Park