Getting to Know Hawaii: The Ka'iwi Scenic Shoreline

The Need to Knows:

• The Ka'iwi Scenic Shoreline is located right next to the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail; use the same parking lot as the Lighthouse Trail, but instead take the trail leading off to the right after you see the Ka'iwi Scenic Shoreline sign (pictured below).  Here's the Shoreline's Google Maps location:

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• The park is open from 7 AM to 6:45 PM every day.
• There is no charge to enter this area, and parking is free in the lot.
• Dogs are welcome along the shoreline, yay!
• There isn't any cover here to protect you from the sun, so be sure to wear lots of sunscreen or a hat and bring plenty of water for you and your furry friend.  Feel free to bring an umbrella and some chairs as well if you plan on spending a couple hours here!
• If you play in the tide pools, it may be wise to bring along some reef shoes for you and some hiking shoes for your dog.  On this trip, my little Lila actually got a cut on her paw (which healed up just fine in about a week), so next time she will definitely have some shoes on.
• People use the first tide pool area as a dog beach, so if you do bring your pet, be sure to comply with typical dog park/dog beach rules.

The Kai'wi Scenic Shoreline is a wonderful stretch of coastline just south of the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail on the southeastern tip of Oahu with a semi-secluded, dog friendly beach and some great tide pool exploration when the ocean isn't raging.

View on the trail looking back towards the parking lot

Bird on the trail that Lila really, REALLY wanted to play with!

The trail itself is pretty short, only about a 5-10 minute walk to the small beach, but you can continue on down the coastline and explore with these gorgeous views at your side.

Beautiful view of the backside of the daunting Koko Crater

The Ka'iwi Scenic Shoreline trail is also the way you get to the famous Pele's Chair, a lava rock formation in the shape of a (you guessed it!) chair.

Giant boulders in the foreground with Pele's Chair in the distance

Apparently when Pele (the Hawaiian goddess of fire) created Oahu, she did so from this very spot, and when she was finished, she left her chair behind to head to Molokai and start the island-building process over again.  Interestingly enough, this area of Oahu actually is the youngest piece of land on the island!

When you're walking along the trail, if you veer off to the left, you'll end up on some rocky coastline that'll lead you to the chair itself.  If you veer to the right, it'll lead you to the beach and tide pool pictured below.

On this day, we brought our youngest dog Lila for her first shoreline exploration experience.  Unfortunately our other Schnauzer Liam absolutely HATES the water, so we didn't bring him along.

Look at that tongue!  She was burning up until we dunked her in the tide pool.

She had a great time playing in the tide pool and making friends with the many other dogs that were there (it was a Saturday, so plenty of people -- I do believe it's less crowded during the week).

At one point, this random helicopter decided to buzz us and the chair.  It was pretty exhilarating to watch, actually!

After a little while of playing around, Lila decided she needed a rest and then promptly sat in a small, hollowed out section of the rock we were sitting on.  She's pretty silly, haha.

After posing for one last picture with the chair, we decided to pack up and head out with plenty of intentions to come back for a longer day of exploring later!

Is your pet a fan of coastlines and beaches?  I'm glad I have at least one dog that is considering where we live!