The bay makes a great beach, wrapping around a huge semicircle ringed by mountains. The wave action seemed good, but not huge when we were there, with a lot of surfers out trying it. The beach has a pier jutting out making a good spot to sit and watch the water and surfers.

Gorgeous ride to the bay and spectacular views all around. A protected area for yachts, surfing and generally family friendly area. The Pier is fun to walk and the kids who jump off into the clear waters below. A little too shallow for my liking jumping 20 feet down into 8-10 feet of water, but the laughter of people is pretty cool. Stumbled upon a food truck and just soaked in the area.

After our reservation to Hanea State Park was canceled we popped in here to check it out. The skies were overcast, but it was in the mid 70’s so jumping in the water felt great. Very sandy beach, which was great compared to some of the rockier ones we visited

After flying into Kauai late in the night, Hanalei Bay was a great place to relax, get some gentle waves, and soak in the beauty of Kauai’s mountains. The beach wasn’t very crowded on a Wednesday afternoon and we were able to easily park. Bathrooms worked fine and weren’t too dirty. There was enough shade for my easily sunburning husband, but plenty of sun for me. We swam across the river at the east end and explored the shady beaches on that side. We found, opened, and ate a fresh coconut and climbed huge trees. We found a floating log in the bay and hung out on it for a long time. Boogie boarding was not great because the waves were so calm, but we floated around on them . We ended the day with a family jump off the pier into the crystal clear water.