Malaekaha State Recreation Campgrounds

My notes for this one: "Loud, but awesome!"On Oahu, it's hard to get a hotel for less than $250/night once you factor in fees. And you're more likely to pay something like $350/night or more.But, Oahu camping, while it has lots of red tape, gets you beachside camping for about $33/night! (even cheaper if you are lucky enough to live in Hawaii!)These sites are located in the grass under the trees.They are about 100 paces from the beach.The only negative is that other people's sites are about 50 paces from you.I sleep like I'm dead, and it's almost impossible to wake me up, so this wasn't a big deal for me. If you're not a sound sleeper though, ear plugs are probably a must! Quiet hours aren't generally respected around here.We loved that we were some of the only non-Hawaiians at this campground. I guess because, like all tourists, we like thinking we aren't like "those" tourists, lol. Anyway, it was fun to hangout where the locals hangout for a night!

The parking lot here is awful. It seems like it hasn't been repaired or repaved in ages and there are enormous, deep potholes that require you to weave through the lot to get to the campsites. (It took me about 5 minutes to make it from the entrance gate to the campsites because of the terrible condition of the lot.) Also, watch out for all the chickens and feral cats as you drive, as they don't seem to be terribly concerned about vehicle traffic. The campsites really seem to be packed in here and they aren't as clearly marked as some other locations. Because of the confusing layout, we discovered that someone had taken our campsites because another family took theirs, so we didn't get to stay in the area that we wanted to. (Yes, we could have asked all of them to move, but they had already set up their camps.)The bathroom facilities were in good condition and were stocked with lots of toilet paper, which was nice. They also have plenty of garbage cans around the campsites, just not by the grassy knoll across from the bathrooms.

This is by far my favorite camping spot on Oahu! Super well maintained grounds with clean bathroom facilities. We camped at site 1T-F a couple of weeks ago and really loved it because it was tucked away from the rest of the camp sites. Even though it was a little bit longer of a walk from the beach, it was nice to have hardly anyone around us. We camped, fished, and surfed.. it was so fun. The little campsite shop closes at 4pm but if you make it in time before it closes they have wood and other camping necessities you may have forgotten to pack. It's super kid friendly and I love that you can park right at your campsite. It also feels safer than other campsites on island that we've been to.. no random pit bulls or sketchy people walking around. The uncle who maintains the ground was so friendly and weaved me a coconut hat and weaved my honey a bowl! We booked again for next month. Can't wait to build more memories here!

My friends and I were asked to speak at a Jaycee Retreat. We admired the commitment of the president, Board of Directors, and members for giving up the comforts of home and sleep in tents on the hard ground! We talked about the last time we went camping ourselves - probably when we were little kids! Maybe we like our televisions, refrigerators, and computers too much!?This campsite is located in Laie, past the Polynesian Cultural Center, as you drive from town. It took about an hour to drive there from Kaneohe. If you're coming from Honolulu, it'll probably be an hour and a half drive. The GPS took me past this State-run campgrounds, to the private campgrounds right next to it. To find this one, just look for the brown sign with the yellow wording as shown in my photo.Enter the open gate and go down the potholed driveway. Drive slowly because the potholes are deep and there are a lot of them!! Campsite A is first and Campsite B is at the end. The parking is free, but the stalls are not marked. The picnic tables are numbered clearly.I didn't use any of the facilities, but I heard the gals ask for bathroom tissue before they visited the restroom. We had our own charcoal and grill. Brink your own tent, tables and chairs, sleeping bags, and food! Enjoy the natural environment!

Beautiful beach camping for such a cheap price. You can reserve a site online for $13/day and add all vehicles and people onto one reservation for one price.Tip: Gates close at 6:45pm so make sure you get in before they close for the night.The driveway into the campground is very uneven with lots of pot hots and speed bumps. Drive slowly and carefully! Unfortunately you cannot pull your vehicle into your camp site so I highly recommend bringing a wagon to help unload your vehicle (minus one star).We stayed in area B which was well maintained with lots of grassy areas.The bathroom in this area was actually very clean. I would recommend bringing your own hand soap and maybe a cheap shower curtain on a rope for the shower/toilet area since there are no doors (I believe a youth group had set some up while we were here).Most of the sites have easy access to the beach but it was very windy while we were here so we stayed in the camp ground where there was no wind. Although there is a picnic table at each site there is no fire pit so bring your own.Overall great campsite and I will be back.

Beautiful amazing place with well kept grounds. Hidden secret. A must check out. You wont be disappointed.

Beautiful place, amazing beach Will definitely stay with my family on camping after COVID-19.

This is a pretty nice place to go camping located in the North Shore. Depending on what direction you are going and coming from on Kamehameha Highway, it is in between Kauhuku and Laie. It is more so located in Laie area through not too far from the Polynesian Cultural Center and BYUH. There are two entrances to Malaekaha State Recreation Campgrounds. One entrance is I think the front where they have the office and everything and that is where the cabins are located at. There is also a back entrance which takes you to the back of the camping grounds area. I think you can just come in through this way if you already have your permit and everything and just pull up to your site. There are different sites in the area and they are all relatively close to the beach and everything. The access to bathrooms, wash area, etc. is ok to. When you do your reservation (which is online) just make sure you pick the right place that you want. Oh yeah, when you go on the back parking lot area, just make sure you drive cautiously because it is really rocky! In regards to reservations, you can go to the government website to apply, obtain, and pay for your camping permit. This is the website: https://camping.ehawaii.gov/camping/all,details,1681.htmlIt is pretty good because there is also a map of the camping grounds so it is clear where different things are located at. When you arrive on the site, there are numbers/letters of the site located on the green picnic tables just so that you don't get confused. When you go camping, just make sure you are prepared with your camping stuff because I have seen some people not really prepared for camping. There was one time it was raining really bad and saw this one family only having a really small tent and most of your stuff was on the picnic table. Anyways, the price for the daily reservation is not bad. I think they are closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Overall, not too bad of a place to go camping down in the North Shore. The beach is pretty good and weather is pretty good too most of the time. Since it is in the North Shore, it could tend to be pretty cold too at night so yeah.

Well-maintained campgrounds right by the beach. Bathrooms and showers are clean, and close to the campsites. There are a couple stores within a ten minute drive so you can pick up some last-minute grinds (and alcohol from Tamuras - Laie is a dry town so no luck at Foodland.)Couple tips: reserve permits in advance, and note there are no fireplaces so bring a grill. It can get a little chilly at night so bring a couple layers.

I never would have thought I would say I enjoy camping but somewhere along the way I began to enjoy the whole experience and I think Malaekahana is part of the reason. You can reserve a space online for about $10 a site which comes with a picnic table and trash cans. There are also a few sinks spread out amongst the site and a bathroom with showers at each end. We usually reserve two sites just to give ourselves extra personal space. There is also tons of beach access from each campsite! Someone comes around each morning (maybe every other, I could be wrong) to pick up the trash so were able to keep the site clean and avoid bugs. This is the perfect camp site for groups or families. Most recently we were there and there was actually a whole Boy Scout group there so definitely children friendly. We usually have awesome weather, only ran into rain once but def come prepared for weather changes! As a side note, I will say that if you prefer lots of privacy, bring a curtain for the bathrooms. Only one stall has a door and the showers are open. But come on, you're camping - it's meant to be a bit rugged! Malaekahana is truly a perfect campground for North Shore Hawaii and allows you to experience 'country' life. **at night go the beach and look the stars - amazing view!**