The North Shore of O’ahu is one of the most iconic places in the world. Surfers from across the globe flock to Pipeline during the winter months for big swells. Hawaii’s “winter” isn’t really a winter if you look at our average temperatures. The coldest it gets is 75, maybe. However our winters do bring big surf on the north shore. The famous Eddie Aikau surf competition attracts hundreds of locals who love watching surf competition. Only the best surfers attempt Pipeline.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my girlfriend and I!

The downfall of the other popular beaches

Aside from big surf competitions the North Shore also has a number of secluded “hipster” beaches that offer great photo-ops with little to no crowds. The bigger, popular beaches like Waimea Bay and Sunset Beach are usually very busy and get a lot of traffic on the weekends. It can be really difficult to find parking and become a stressful experience, so I try to avoid those beaches for that very reason.

The greatest part about this beach is that not a lot of people go to it.

My favorite secluded beach

One of my favorite secluded beaches is known as “Gas chambers” to locals and is a cute surf spot during the summer months. A lot of North Shore locals go here, especially the youngins (20 year olds.) During the week there’s usually 3-4 people that occupy half a mile of shoreline and on the weekends it gets to maybe 10-12 people. That’s how secluded this beach is. It has an absolutely gorgeous shoreline and the water is so clear. I’ve seen turtles at this beach before. They usually come out in the afternoon to sunbathe. If you do see a turtle, make sure to maintain your distance and don’t make physical contact with them because it’s actually illegal to do that in Hawaii.

This is all from the same photoshoot – we had so much fun.

Directions & Parking

So, how to get to this beach. After driving up to the North Shore (it takes about an hour if you’re coming from the East Side, Hawaii Kai area,) you’re going to locate “Ehukai Beach Park” on Google maps. It will be easier if you just route your GPS to Ehukai Beach Park. After turning into the parking lot take an immediate right and drive into the neighborhoods. Locate the 2nd beach entrance on your left and you’ve made it! Parking is sparse but because no one goes here, I wouldn’t worry about not finding parking anyway. Please be respectful of this beach (as you should be towards all beaches,) but this one is located in a neighborhood so be extra careful to pick up your trash and leave your area clean.

My friends and I found a cool tepee on the beach – so rustic.

The best part?

My favorite part about this beach is the high frequency of “magical Hawaii moments” I’ve had here. I spent a huge chunk of my summer up at the North Shore and there have been so many “God I love Hawaii” moments that I’ve spent at this specific beach. One time my favorite bikini company, benoa swim, was having a sale on the beach and my friend and I had a fun photoshoot there. There was a little hut built out of palm leaves that someone left and it was just so cute. One time I watched the sunset with my friend and it was so beautiful. One time I got to watch some good surfing up-front. One time a turtle came up on the beach. There have been a plethora of amazing, wholesome moments that I’ve spent on this beach and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to discover the beauty of Hawaii.

I could not resist taking a picture in this adorable little tepee.