Hawaiʻi's beaches belong to everyone, but a handful of popular parks now require advance booking, and protected wildlife comes with real legal limits. This page gathers the rules that most often surprise visitors.
You will sometimes hear that "all beaches in Hawaiʻi are public." The more precise version is that the shoreline is public, and the state protects your right to walk along it.
Under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Chapter 115, beach transit corridors seaward of the shoreline are public property, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources says coastal landowners must keep vegetation from blocking that public right of passage. Intentionally obstructing someone's use of a beach transit corridor is treated as obstructing access to public property, a misdemeanor. The counties have primary responsibility for developing and maintaining public access paths from roads to the shore.
What this means in practice:
To manage crowds and protect fragile places, a few of Hawaiʻi's most visited spots limit daily entry for non-residents. Residents with Hawaiʻi ID are usually exempt or have separate rules.
Non-residents book a timed entry online and pay an entry fee. The preserve is regularly closed on some weekdays and has had extended closures for infrastructure repairs, including in August 2026, with another closure expected in early 2027. Visitors watch a short orientation before going down to the beach.
Non-residents need an advance reservation for entry and, if driving, for parking. The park sits at the end of the North Shore road and includes Kēʻē Beach and the start of the Kalalau Trail. A shuttle option has been offered as an alternative to parking.
Since April 2021, non-resident visitors have needed both an entry and a parking reservation for this black-sand beach on the Road to Hāna. Reservations cannot be bought on the day at the park, so book before you set out.
Entry fees, parking fees and booking windows change. Always confirm on the official City and County of Honolulu or DLNR State Parks websites linked under Sources rather than relying on a booking site or an older article.
It is common to find a Hawaiian monk seal asleep on a beach, or a green sea turtle resting at the water's edge. Both are protected by federal law, and harassing a monk seal is also a Class C felony under Hawaiʻi state law. Lifeguards and volunteers often rope off a resting seal; stay outside the line.
| Animal | NOAA recommended distance | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaiian monk seal | At least 50 ft (15 m) | 150 ft (45 m) from a mother and pup |
| Green sea turtle (honu) | At least 10 ft (3 m) | Never touch, feed or block its way to the water |
| Spinner dolphins | 50 yd (45 m), a federal rule | Applies in the water near shore, including swimmers and paddlers |
| Humpback whales | 100 yd (90 m), a federal rule | Mostly a concern for paddlers and boats in winter |
Keep dogs leashed and well away from resting animals, and do not use flash photography or drones to get closer.
The shoreline itself is public. Under Hawaii law, beach transit corridors seaward of the shoreline are public property, and intentionally blocking someone from using them can be a misdemeanor. Access to the beach across private land is a different matter: use marked public access paths and parking, and do not cut through hotels or homes unless the path is designated.
The best-known examples are Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve on Oʻahu, which uses timed reservations for non-residents; Hāʻena State Park on Kauaʻi, which includes Kēʻē Beach and requires non-resident entry and parking reservations; and Waiʻānapanapa State Park on Maui, where non-residents need entry and parking reservations booked in advance. Rules and fees change, so check the official sites.
NOAA recommends at least 50 feet from Hawaiian monk seals, 150 feet from a mother with a pup, and at least 10 feet from sea turtles. Harassing a monk seal is a felony under Hawaii state law, and both species are protected by federal law.
Please leave them. Removing natural materials harms beaches and the creatures that live there, and taking sand, rock or marine life is restricted in many protected areas such as Marine Life Conservation Districts and state parks.
Hawaii bans the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate statewide. Maui County goes further and allows only mineral sunscreens, and Hawaiʻi County bans the sale of non-mineral sunscreens. A mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide works everywhere.