Keokea Beach Park, Hawaii, the Big Island
Located on the rocky northern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, Keokea Beach Park was pulsing with crashing waves the day we were there.
I couldn’t believe it when a couple of the local Hawaiian surfers jumped into the water and swam out to where the waves were breaking. Rocks lined the entire beach with cliffs on either side, so this is not a beach for the uninitiated swimmer or surfer. They looked big to me and I bet they gave quite a ride. One little 7 year old was climbing on the rocks near us saying, “that’s my brother and he’s not afraid of any wave!”
The humpback whales visit from December to May, when they return to breed, calve and nurse their young. Look out at the ocean and you’ll see large sprays of water shooting up 10-20 feet above the sea. This trip I was lucky to see a whale close to shore breach and land on it’s side with a huge splash. In the photo below you can see a spout way out in the water, with a surfer in the foreground for scale. I could watch for hours.
The power of the waves was impressive this trip to the north shore and I’ll leave you with a gallery of waves and spray.
Mahalo
Captain Dan’s Tips for visiting Keokea: This is not really a good place to swim. You see pictures of locals out there on their boogie boards but the shore is very rocky and the surf is very high. There is a shelter perched up high near the parking lot with a great view of the surf for photos or just to watch the big waves crash to shore.