Ho’okipa Beach Park

Mile #9, Hâna Highway
Paia, HI
Phone: 572-8122

Ho’okipa Beach Park is one of the top spots for ocean sports and recreation in Maui.
Located at Mile #9 on Hâna Highway (36), this breath-taking white sand beach boasts some of the best waves on the Maui coastline.
A mecca for surfers of all ages since the 1930’s and the “home of contemporary surfing.”
Hookipa Beach is among Maui’s most popular sites for events large and small.
The Aloha Classic and Red Bull surfing competitions have come to Ho’okipa and the Maui Sports Foundation sponsors a number of events each year.

Facilities:

Beach: 8.4 sq. miles White sand, coconut trees, excellent waves.
Surfing: Year-round with 10’-15’ swells in winter months. Aloha Classic, Red Bull surfing competitions and the Maui Sports Foundation: 4-6 events yearly.
Wind Surfing: Favorable offshore breezes, great waves and weather.
Picnic Areas: Three Pavilions - barbeque grills and permanent tables in each pavilion.
Public Restrooms: Restroom pavilion adjacent picnic pavilions.
Water: Outdoor Showers and fresh water also available from taps and fountains.
ADA Accessibility: Partial Accessibility - Restroom pavilion and main parking.
Electrical - 110/220 Hookup: Power available inside picnic pavilions. No overhead.

Arguably the most famous windsurfing site in the world, Ho‘okipa Beach Park is located on the north shore of Maui, Hawaii. The waves here are largest during the winter, and break across a system of reefs that extend across the bay. During the summer the waves are smaller. Ho'okipa is ideal for windsurfing because of its large well-shaped waves and strong winds. The name Ho‘okipa means "hospitality" in Hawaiian. While ever-present strong winds and powerful currents do not make the beach a place for beginners, experienced surfers and windsurfers continually flock to Ho'okipa for both recreation and windsurfing competitions.

There are four distinct breaks at Ho'okipa. Pavillions is the break furthest east, off the lookout parking. West from it, facing the main parking, is Middles break. Usually these are both left to surfers. The area between the two, which catches fewer breaking sets, is sometimes referred to as Girlie Bowl. Next further west, facing the lifeguard tower and the narrow sand beach launch, is H‘Poko. It is the most popular break for windsurfing, and generally breaks as a right. With the prevailing trade wind direction being east to east-north-east, this is most frequently down-the-line sailing on port tack. Yet further west, past the rocky point, is Lanes, which generally breaks as a left. Under relatively rare conditions, known as Kona, the prevailing winds become southwest, and Lanes is ridden down-the-line on starboard tack. This only occurs on a few days out of every year.

Windsurfers hit the waves during high surf at Ho'okipa, in April.

Over the years Ho'okipa has been the site for many organized windsurfing competitions in the Wave discipline. A long-running annual event is the Aloha Classic, a Pro-Am competition with age categories for contestants.

Like many locations on the Maui and Oahu North Shore, Ho'okipa Beach is occasionally a tourist attraction in the winter time because of spectacularly large surf.