Polihale is the longest beach in the rainbow state of Hawai’i and it’s quite a spectacular part of the world. Its soft white and golden sand feels good beneath the toes and the 17-mile stretch means there is a lot of beach for everyone.
From here, we can see some of the cliffs of the Na Pali Coast. It’s a quiet spot on the island, except for the sound of the ocean crashing onto the shore. And that’s quite hypnotic, and beautiful.
As work needed to get done at our place, we took this opportunity to go camping at Polihale. Wade purchased a camping permit for a couple of nights and we packed our van with a tent, food, water, stovetop, a makeshift litter box, and other supplies. Then mid-morning, we headed westward on Highway 50.
The Polihale State Park is at the end of a five-mile rough road off the highway. It is an old unpaved cane haul road that is full of potholes. These fill up after long rainfall and can make it impassable for most vehicles. Even on a dry day, a car with a low-clearance needs to go slow and navigate carefully. It’s easiest with trucks with a higher clearance and note that rental companies do not allow driving in these conditions. This means there aren’t so many tourists out this way.
After driving to a few different campsites, we decided on one and set up camp. When Wade’s sister moved overseas, we inherited their tent. Once we figured it out, this tent was super easy to work with. By the time we had unloaded the car, set up, and got Luna situated, it was lunch time. I ate mine inside the tent, to keep Luna company, as she peered outside the tent windows. I wonder what she thought. This was not the first time she was out in nature; it was her first time camping. She seemed pretty content on her blanket that we made sure to bring. Then we spent the afternoon relaxing. I also brought something to read and after a short while, I took a nap and went to look at the ocean.
Polihale beach has no lifeguard. It has bathroom facilities at the campsites. There are also pavilions along the way, which provide shade and a place to picnic. There is absolutely no shade on the beach itself and the sand gets too hot to walk barefoot. Be sure to bring an umbrella for shade if you want to sit close to the ocean. The last time we came, we put our chairs and the umbrella up on the cliffs and still the sun reflecting off the ocean was more than I expected and realized. I used the homeopathic remedy Apis on the ride home.
With the camping stove we bought from Ace Hardware, Wade prepared dinner. It was so windy that it took much longer.
We didn’t know a storm was coming.
Sometime during the night, I suddenly woke up. I heard Wade call to me from the car, where he was sleeping. I put my feet on the ground to discover that the tent was beading from the humidity and a large bubble was forming beneath from the rainwater that had gathered.
There was a pond between the tent and the car and after some consideration, Wade made his way over to sit with us. Luna understandably was restless. She’s not a fan of water. We talked about whether the tent would hold and whether it would be better to pack up now or wait out the storm. Unsure that the gate to the Park would even be open, we decided to play it by ear.
We were not the only ones. A few cars came our way, their headlights shining into our tent as they turned around.
Eventually we fell asleep. Waking up periodically to check on Luna and the tent, the rest of my night was hardly restful and I woke up exhausted. At least the sun was out and the pond beneath and outside had begun to disperse. We then spent the morning cleaning the dirt off what was left outside overnight and reorganized the cooler that now contained rainwater as well as melted ice. Seeing that where the tent sat was the lowest point in the parking lot, we relocated it to higher grounds on the grass by the picnic table.
It was quite a night and morning. We were amazed and thankful that the tent had held up so well. Over breakfast we laughed at our experience in the unexpected storm.
We were set to stay another night. That night’s permit was already purchased. Be sure to get your permits ahead of time as there is no cell coverage out there. You can also drive back out closer to the main road to use your phone. You don’t have to go all the way back, just keep checking along the way.
However, with the skies darkening, we felt like it was time to return home.
Polihale State Park
Lower Saki Mana Road
Waimea, Hawai’i
Info on camping permits Polihale State Park Camping