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Beaches of MauiThe Beaches of Maui are some of the best in the world. ----- BEACH ACCESS All beaches in Maui and Hawaii are public -- there are no private beaches in all of Hawaii, including Maui. Beach Parks on Maui are developed recreational sites with parking lots, unlike many other undeveloped beaches around Maui. Beaches in front of resort hotels have nearby public access walkways from tiny "beach parking" lots with only very limited public beach parking allotted. Where hotels and houses are built along the back of beaches, public access walkways between hotels and houses provide access to the beach for anyone who wants to get to the beaches of Hawaii, and this includes you. You may have to look or ask for the locations of these public access walkways. ----- BEACHES SUNNY OR CLOUDY? At Maui’s resort beaches west of its two mountains, in the morning the sun may be behind the clouds over the mountains to the east, but by afternoon the sun usually moves from behind the clouds over the mountains and out over the clear skies above the beaches and ocean until sunset. A large part of Maui's cloud cover consists of clouds which lie over the mountains, but may not obscure the sun or the sky directly overhead at the resort beaches. Maui's leeward resort beaches are less affected by summer trade-wind cloudiness over the mountains – but even these resort beaches tend to be cloudier during the winter when storms are more frequent. Sometimes light rain will start when its sunny on the beach but cloudy over the mountains. Then you may ask, "Is the rain going to get worse later today?" Usually the answer is no -- the wind is just blowing tiny rain drops out of the clouds above the mountains, and the clouds will stay away over the mountains. So when it is cloudy on Maui, the best time to go to the beaches in the resort areas is usually in the afternoons, after the sun comes out from behind any clouds over the mountains. So plan accordingly. The only exception to this prevailing afternoon sunniness is on the beaches of Wailea in South Maui, where a long cloud extends out from the mountain during many afternoons and keeps the beaches of Wailea in shade. Also, in the mornings on the beaches of Kaanapali and Kahana in West Maui, parts of these beaches are in the cool shade from the tall hotels and condos along these two beaches, but by afternoon these beaches are usually in full sun. ----- BEST BEACH TIMES Before 10 AM and after 2 PM are better beach times, because the semi-tropical sun is too intense at midday, especially to avoid sunburn when you first arrive untanned on Maui, and especially in summer. And at midday the sand can get too hot to walk on barefoot. ----- YELLOW SAND, BLACK SAND, RED SAND The usual yellow sand beaches are most numerous on Maui, especially at the major resort areas of Kaanapali and Kihei. The yellow sand is the result of centuries of waves grinding down sea shells and coral. A black sand beach from ground down black lava is in Hana at Wainapanapa State Park. Also in Hana is somewhat inaccessible red sand beach from black lava containing iron that has oxidized over time to become red and crumbly. ----- FEW BEACH UMBRELLAS Leave your beach umbrellas at home. Maui beaches are usually too windy for umbrella shade, especially when the trade winds are howling. Days between trade winds may be calm enough for an umbrella, but you won't see many beach umbrellas on Maui beaches. ----- CAUTION "Never turn you back on the ocean!" When near the surf, this is a general rule on Maui because high waves from storms can suddenly rise up unexpectedly, especially during the winter storm season. Beach goers are encouraged to observe the following beach safety basics as stated by www.hawaiibeachsafety.org: · NEVER SWIM ALONE · DON’T DIVE INTO UNKNOWN WATER OR INTO SHALLOW BREAKING WAVES · PRIOR TO ENTERING THE WATER, ASK A LIFEGUARD ABOUT BEACH AND SURF CONDITIONS AND ANY PROBLEMS OR HAZARDS · IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO SWIM OUT OF A STRONG CURRENT, SIGNAL FOR HELP · RELY ON YOUR SWIMMING ABILITY RATHER THAN ANY FLOTATION DEVICE · LOOK FOR, READ, AND OBEY ALL BEACH SAFETY SIGNS AND SYMBOLS · IF IN DOUBT, JUST STAY OUT! IT IS FAR BETTER TO RECOGNIZE THAT A BEACH IS TOO DANGEROUS RATHER THAN ATTEMPT TO ENTER THE OCEAN AND RISK INJURY OR DEATH. Check out http://oceansafety.soest.hawaii.edu/safety/ for additional beach safety tips. ----- LINKS TO INFORMATION ABOUT MAUI BEACHES:
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