Laniakea Beach

Turtle Beach:

Laniakea beach or Lani’s is also referred to as “Turtle beach” because this natural sanctuary attracts so many of the endangered Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle or “Honu”.

Since the year 2000 the turtles have been basking on the beach enjoying the warm sun rays, the turtles most likely come here because of the abundance of limu (seaweed) growing on the rocks which they feed on.

Toward the right hand side of the beach is a small cove in which the turtles make their way in to the shore thru the channel, the plentitude of boulders and coral reef act as a rocky deterrent to its natural predator…tiger sharks.

But even more dangerous to this threatened species of turtle than the tiger shark is Man himself, Fishermen with irresponsible fishing techniques frequent the beach with too many poles, too many lines and hooks that end up wrapped around the turtles limbs.

This not only endangers the turtles but it affects the reef also and ruins the natural eco-system. With the influx of visitors to the beach and the lack of public facilities or infrastructure available, pollution has become an issue with soda cans and plastic bags found in the water and along the shoreline. The run-off from cars that border the shoreline along kamehameha hwy is also a concern.

Although these turtles are very friendly and let you swim and visit with them on the beach, please do not bother them, a basic rule of thumb is to always keep one bicycle’s length away from the turtle whether it be on land or in the water.

Surf:

Finding Lani’s is very simple, when you leave Haleiwa Town going towards Waimea bay, it is roughly 2 miles from the town and easily visible from Kamehameha Highway.

You can’t miss it in fact you will see lots of cars parked in the dirt on the mountain side of the highway and nothing but a pretty ocean view on the ocean side of the highway. The reason for so many parked cars besides the turtle seeking tourists is Laniakea is a favorite spot for surfers driving over from town, and the surf is usually a bit crowded.

Lani’s is a long right which can connect into a world-class wave for over 300 yards and breaks great on a lot of swells, north/ north-west is the best swell for this spot. Other times it sections out dividing the break into several different take-off zones.

It's also fairly easy to ride, You can paddle out in the channel to the left of the break between Laniakea and Himalayas, or the channel to the right of the wave next to Holton's. The Holton's channel is only there if the waves are smaller than 6 foot.

Features
Parking: along highway on grass and dirt area
Showers: no
Bathrooms: no
Nearest Concession: driving distance
Lifeguard: no
Picnic Areas: if you like sitting on a boulder under a tree.
Shoreline Sand to Reef Ratio: 2-8, very reefy, some sand spots.
Surf: flat 0-2 ft in the summer, rough 4-12 ft in winter

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patty whitlock wrote on 7/29/2008:

hi, I was talking with Patrick and he told me to ask if by any chance I could purchase a couple of the tee shirts? I would love to help advertise in California. I would really appreciate it. Thanks for all that all of you do! God Bless you, Patty

Carol Philips wrote on 6/6/2008:

You gotta try surfing lessons with the North Shore Surf Girls. Totally cool.

kaui_pono wrote on 5/27/2008:

saw the turtles while driving by, man the traffic was backed up at this spot but totally worth it.

haleybailey99 wrote on 3/3/2008:

this is me and my b/f's beach!!!! i love it!!!

Tom Reese wrote on 10/29/2007:

I visited this beach on my honeymoon, in fact the rental that we stayed at was just a walk away...beautiful cove with surf in the distance and turtles laying out on the sand.

lani wrote on 4/23/2007:

beautiful beach