Is Kauapea Beach open?
No closures reported
No County, State or Health Department notice closes Kauapea Beach. Checked Oct 28, 3:01 pm HST. Details
Weather Service alert
Weather
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Air temp
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UV index
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Surf
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Water temp
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Sunrise and sunset
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Kauapea Beach in 3D
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Drag to spin · Heights doubled; waves are for illustration, not a surf report ·
Known hazards
“Kauapea Beach is not a lifeguarded beach and the public is urged to use caution if getting in the water.”County of Kauaʻi, 2024-10-23
“officials strongly recommended only swimming at beaches that have lifeguards.”County of Kauaʻi, 2024-07-09
Closures and alerts
Closures and advisories
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Official alerts
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Conditions
Surf
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Weather
Tide
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Parking and access
Parking
There is no public parking lot. People park along the end of Secret Beach Road, a dirt road off Kalihiwai Road, next to private homes. Spaces are few and fill up. Do not block the road or driveways. The Kīlauea Point refuge lots do not connect to this beach.
Getting to the sand
A steep, unmarked dirt trail starts at the end of the dirt road and drops to the west end of the beach in about 10 to 15 minutes. It is slippery when wet. The County calls this the existing west shoreline access, but we could not confirm a recorded public easement or who maintains it. The old trail to the east end, off Kauapea Road, is blocked and has been in a County lawsuit since 2018.
Lifeguard
Not guarded. The County of Kauaʻi Ocean Safety Bureau doesn't list a lifeguard tower here.
Where we stay. We stay at Honu Hale Sunrise in Princeville. It’s ours.
See Honu Hale SunriseAbout Kauapea Beach
Kauapea Beach is a long stretch of sand on Kauaʻi's North Shore, between Kalihiwai Valley and Kīlauea Point, and is commonly called Secret Beach. Clark's Hawaiʻi Place Names describes about 3,000 feet of calcareous sand. Red and black sea cliffs rise behind it, and the Kīlauea Lighthouse and Mokuʻaeʻae Island are in view to the east. No road reaches the sand: a short, steep dirt trail from the end of a side road off Kalihiwai Road leads down to the west end.
People come to walk the length of the beach, look over the lava rock and tide pools at the western end, and see the small waterfalls that spill from the cliffs. Surfers ride a shorebreak over the sandbar, mostly in winter, when the water is often dangerous. The beach has no lifeguard, restrooms, showers or drinking water. The County notes that it is not a lifeguarded beach and has reported drownings here, including two visitor deaths in 2024.
Kauapea Beach (also called Secret Beach, Secrets) is a beach on Kauaʻi’s North Shore, on the north-facing coast. No County lifeguard tower covers it. Its surf follows the National Weather Service forecast for North-facing shores, and its tides follow NOAA’s Hanalei Bay station.
Questions
Is Kauapea Beach open?
The top of this page shows any closure or advisory that the County of Kauaʻi, the State (DLNR) or the Hawaiʻi Department of Health has posted for Kauapea Beach. We check every 3 hours. If our last check is more than a day old, it says “Status unknown” instead of guessing.
Where is Kauapea Beach, and how do you get there?
Kauapea Beach is on Kauaʻi’s North Shore. Its public access point is at GPS 22.22355, -159.41310. Directions in Google Maps. The map on this page shows lots that OpenStreetMap marks as public.
Is there a lifeguard at Kauapea Beach?
No. Kauapea Beach has no County lifeguard tower. The nearest guarded beach is the place to ask about conditions.
Where do you park for Kauapea Beach?
There is no public parking lot. People park along the end of Secret Beach Road, a dirt road off Kalihiwai Road, next to private homes. Spaces are few and fill up. Do not block the road or driveways. The Kīlauea Point refuge lots do not connect to this beach.
Can you swim at Kauapea Beach?
That changes day to day with the surf, and this site doesn't make that call. Check the North-facing surf range above, any alerts, and a lifeguard at the nearest guarded beach. Hazard ratings for guarded beaches are at hawaiibeachsafety.com.
Report conditions
Just there? Tell us what you found. Reports never change this page by themselves.
Sources
- Closures: County of Kauaʻi, DLNR, Hawaiʻi Department of Health
- Surf, weather and alerts: National Weather Service Honolulu
- Tides: NOAA station 1611683
- Parking lots on the map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Sources last checked October 26, 2026.