Paddling Routes on Oahu: He’eia Peninsula to the Kaneohe Sandbar

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: He’eia Peninsula to the Kane’ohe Sandbar
• Where: Kaneohe, Hawaii
• Distance: 3 miles
• Time: 2-3 hours
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: Paddling Hawaii

Google Earth Map of the Route

Directions

The put in location for this kayak trip is at He’eia State Park in the Windward Oahu city of Kane’ohe.  The easiest way to get to He’eia State Park from Honolulu is to take the Pali Highway across the Ko’olau Range.  On the other side of the mountains make a left on to the Kamehameha Highway (Highway 83).  This highway will go through downtown Kaneohe and then turn into Highway 830.  Just continue straight on this road until it begins to parallel Kane’ohe Bay and eventually reaches He’eia State Park.

Parking

At He’eia State Park there is a large parking lot that on weekends, especially when events are held here, can get quite full.  However, every time I have come to the park I have been able to find parking.

Hawaiian Meaning

According to the book, “Place Names of Hawaii” the word “Kane’ohe” translates to “bamboo husband”.  There is an old Hawaiian legend that a local women compared her husband’s cruel behavior towards her to the sharp edge of a bamboo.  From this legend the name Kane’ohe was given to the area.

Narrative

Arguably one of the biggest party locations on Oahu is not actually on Oahu. The Kaneohe sandbar is a sunken island about a mile and half off the coast of Oahu that only appears in the morning hours when the tide is out.  When the island is visible the sandbar turns into a party zone with boaters and paddlers hanging out on the island.  My two young kids and I recently went and made the paddle over to the Kaneohe Sandbar.  We first started our trip by driving over to He’eia State Park.  From the parking lot we could see the sandbar out in the distance:

We then carried our Advanced Elements Inflatable Kayak down a small path that leads to a kayak rental business at the bottom of the hill:

The kayak rental business is operated by Kamaaina Kids which is a local non-profit group chosen by the State of Hawaii to manage He’eia State Park:

It seems Kamaaina Kids does pretty good business here because the day we went kayaking there was a huge group of people heading out in kayaks:

After I got our kayak inflated I was able to begin paddling out with my kids to the Kaneohe Sandbar as well:

The water on the way out to the sandbar was beautiful and very calm.  Here is a view from our kayak looking back at the peninsula where He’eia State Park is located at:

Here is a view across Kaneohe Bay where we could see Coconut Island out in the distance:

As we paddled towards the sandbar we could eventually see the various boats that had already made the journey that morning to the sandbar:

The closer we got to the sandbar we could then make out the hordes of people walking around that seemed Jesus like walking across the water:

As we reached the sandbar the water quickly turned from very deep to very shallow:

We then beached our kayak on the portion of the sandbar that was above water:

We then got out and walked around the sandbar:

We saw people out on the Kaneohe Sandbar playing football, kicking a soccer ball around, and fishing.  Most people though were just like us just walking around amazed that such a neat place exists.  In the background of this image the hill Pu’u Ma’elieli can be seen:

Pu’u Ma’elieli has a nice hike up the Bunkers Trail that provides some great views of Kaneohe Bay to include of the Kaneohe Sandbar:

Best Hikes on Oahu: The Bunkers Trail (Pu’u Ma’elieli Trail)

The below picture shows my kayak route from He’eia State Park to the Kaneohe Sandbar from the summit of Pu’u Ma’elieli:

Here is a view from the sandbar of the impressive peak Pu’u Kanehoalani located in the Kualoa area of Oahu:

According to the book, Ancient Sites of Oahu Kualoa is Hawaiian for “long back” and refers to Pu’u Kanehoalani as being the backbone of Oahu and thus considered sacred.  To add to the sacredness, the name Pu’u Kanehoalani is named in honor of the father of Hawaii’s goddess of fire Pele.  His name was Kane.  Another native Hawaiian legend states that a half man, half pig demigod once lived here named Kamapua‘a:

Below Pu’u Kanehoalani is the small islet of Mokoli’i which is more commonly known as Chinaman’s Hat:

A paddle out to Mokoli’i is one of my favorite kayak trips on Oahu:

Kayak Routes on Oahu: Chinaman’s Hat (Mokoli’i Islet)

Here is a panorama view of Oahu from the sandbar:

From the Kaneohe Sandbar the small island of Auhuolaka is also visible:

Some paddlers will add an additional mile to the trip by paddling over to Ahuolaka Island, but my kids were not interested and instead just wanted to continue to play at the sandbar.  We ended up spending 2 hours out on the sandbar with my kids playing in the shallow water and sand.  They had an absolute blast.  The longer we stayed out though that morning the busier it became:

Eventually the tide began to come back in and cover up the island:

Here is a panorama picture of the sand island becoming covered by the rising ocean tide:

It was a really neat natural feat to see.  The water eventually became deep enough that it came up to the waist of adults:

The water level eventually rose enough that my two young kids were ready to paddle back to shore from the Kaneohe Sandbar:

I definitely had to exert a lot more energy paddling back because the ocean tide was going out.  That is something to keep in mind when paddling out to the sandbar; make sure you have enough energy to paddle back against the tide as well as high winds that can occur:

It took me a little over an hour to paddle back to He’eia State Park.  The park is located peninsula pictured below:

Conclusion

In total it took me about 45 minutes to paddle out to the sandbar and about 1 hour and 20 minutes to paddle back.  Keep in mind that I was in a large kayak with the added weight of two kids, so these times may be a little slower than someone paddling by themselves.  Paddling out to the Kaneohe Sandbar is considered the funnest kayak trip by my two young kids.  I agree with them that it is a lot of fun to go out to the sandbar, but paddling to the Mokulua Islets remains my favorite trip.  The next time I go out there though I would like to bring a barbecue if I can fit one into my kayak.  I saw a number of groups that went out to the sandbar in boats that brought barbecues which looked like a lot of fun.  Even though there are a lot of people out at the sandbar there is still plenty of room for more people to go out there and enjoy the fun.