Best beaches on Kauaʻi for shells and sea glass
Guides name ʻAnini, Kēʻē, Tunnels and Shipwreck for shells, and Shipwreck for the occasional piece of sea glass. Glass Beach in ʻEleʻele is on the list too, though most of its glass is gone. The State bars taking sand and dead coral but still allows collecting shells and beach glass.
Updated
Our picks, not a safety rating. These are our picks, based on what park and guide sources say about shells, sea glass and beachcombing. Finds vary with the tide and the swell, and nothing is guaranteed. The ocean changes by the hour, so check lifeguard hours, closures and today’s surf, and keep an eye on the waves while you walk the tideline.
Beaches with a lifeguard tower come first. Leave live shells and anything with a creature inside where you found it.
1
Kēʻē Beach
North Shore
A guide says Kēʻē has a variety of shells, especially after high tide. Lifeguard tower. Visitors need a Hāʻena State Park reservation. DLNR’s rules for the Hāʻena area bar taking live shells and taking sand, coral or rock, so check them before you collect.
2
ʻAnini Beach
North Shore
A guide calls ʻAnini an excellent spot for finding cowrie and auger shells. A long fringing reef shelters a wide, shallow lagoon. No lifeguard, and the channel at the west end has a known rip current.
3
Tunnels Beach
North Shore
A summer pick: one site calls Tunnels a haven for shelling in summer. The inner Mākua lagoon is a state marine refuge, and entering it needs a permit. No lifeguard. Most people park at Hāʻena Beach Park and walk east along the sand. DLNR’s Hāʻena-area rules bar taking live shells.
4
Shipwreck Beach
South Shore
A guide lists Shipwreck for shells and sea glass, best early in the morning, and another says it catches driftwood and the occasional piece of sea glass. No lifeguard. Keep off the cliff edge at Makawehi Point: jumpers have been badly hurt and killed.
5
Glass Beach
West Side
The beach Kauaʻi’s sea glass is known for, at the end of a dirt road past Port Allen Harbor’s fuel tanks. Most of the glass is gone: Beat of Hawaii judged in 2024 that over 99 percent had vanished, so finds are small and change with every tide. Rocky shoreline; guides suggest closed-toe shoes. No lifeguard.
Questions
Can you take shells from the beach in Hawaiʻi?
Mostly yes. The State’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) says collecting beach glass and shells is still allowed. Live shells are different: DLNR’s rules for the Hāʻena area bar taking them, and collecting shells for commercial use requires a Commercial Marine License. Rules can differ by area, so check DLNR before you collect at a particular beach.
Is it illegal to take sand or coral from a Kauaʻi beach?
Yes. DLNR says taking sand, dead coral or coral rubble is illegal statewide, under state law sections 171-58.5 and 205A-44. Taking live stony coral and live rock is also unlawful. Rules for the Hāʻena area also bar taking sand, coral or rock. Leave all of it on the beach, and bring home only shells and beach glass.
Is there a glass beach on Kauaʻi?
Glass Beach near Port Allen in ʻEleʻele is the one people mean, and it has <a href="/beaches/glass-beach/">its own page</a>. It’s on this list, but Beat of Hawaii judged in 2024 that over 99 percent of its glass is gone. A guide says it is not a state or county park, that no posted rule bars small personal collecting, and it asks visitors to take a small handful, not a bucket.
Which Kauaʻi beaches have shells?
Guides name ʻAnini, Kēʻē, Tunnels and Shipwreck for shells, and Shipwreck and Glass Beach for the occasional piece of sea glass. Finds change with the tide and swell. Kēʻē has a lifeguard tower; the others do not.
More lists: swimming, snorkeling, sunsets, sunrise, turtles & seals, kids & families, boogie boarding, safest, most dangerous, secluded. See also which beaches have lifeguards, surf by shore and today’s closures.