Sand Island State Recreation Area

Great place but every time I come there (mornings), their never on time on opening the gate. One of the many reasons why I can't live back on the islands..

I hadn't been to this beach in years! As a kid I'd go for parties or camping with friends, but it wasn't really a beach we swam at so it wasn't on my list of places to go. With plans to go to the beach cancelled because of rain, I decided to go explore the beach closest to home.The beach is all the way at the end of Sand Island Access road and has a ton of parking. I drove about halfway in and parked near the restrooms and a shower. There were some people setting up to go fishing off the rock wall, but I chose to stroll along the beach. The effects of humans are very apparent at this beach, with a variety of concrete blocks with rusted rebar sticking out of them scattered along this part of the shortline. I stayed and walked, snapping tons of pictures until sunset. The park closes at 6:45pm.

Sand Island Beach Park is huge!!! I've come here twice to work on films. It is out-of-the-way and it has plenty of parking. The park stretches for miles. Other than a filming site, I guess the park would be good for Parties, family reunion's, holding outdoor exercise classes, playing fetch with your dogs and water spots.The park has a view of Diamond head overlooking the ocean. There are some public bathrooms, but they are not maintained at all. There was to TP and the Faucets were broken. Sand Island Beach Park is Not my cup of (tea) Beach, but it could be yours.

My son has been on a beach-combing kick lately, so we've been driving around to a few beaches looking for bits of shells, rocks, sea creatures and what not.I cannot believe that I've never been here before and I live here!I'm guessing this place was a garbage dump back in the old days as evidenced by the interesting rock features consisting of concrete with embedded car parts, old pottery, glass and ancient rubbish.DIRECTIONS: - take Sand Island Access Road and follow it until it ends.- drive into the park and follow the road til the very end. I wasn't sure and parked in the wrong location that lead me to an area without the sandy beach.HIGHLIGHTS:- really is beautiful, if you can get past the fact that there are a lot of scary-looking people around.- there was a cop car patrolling the camp sites, which made me feel a little better.- lots and lots of parking in the farthest end, near the beach.- relatively empty on weekdays and lots of parking on weekends too, in the far lot.- bathrooms and outdoor showers; I haven't been in them but see them off to the distance.- small tide pools with crystal-clear water with critters in them. We saw some fish and rock gobies.- lots of things to pick through on this beach; no mechanical sand-sifters combing out the trash here; you can find ancient bits of spark plugs, pottery shards and flotsam embedded in the rocks.LOWLIGHTS:- yes, it is dusty. If you go on a windy day, be prepared for some dust action until you reach the beach.- scary looking people hanging around the park (eyeing your car, hanging out in groups and congregating in "no parking zones", eyeing you as you walk by) and I am not talking about the homeless, who'd rather be in the shadows, minding their own business. I was so paranoid I took the car registration out of the glove compartment box and put it my purse so they wouldn't break into my car and take the car to my home address...- lots of broken glass, and I am not talking about sea glass. Wear foot protection.I hear that if you keep walking to the farthest ends of the beach you will encounter nude people. We obviously didn't go that far.

Picked up food from Alicia's Market and headed here as the staff there recommended it was a good spot to eat without driving too far. They were right, it was about a 10min drive and parking was easy. Great view and lots of spots to sit and eat.

What happened to this park?I thought I was here before when the parking lots were full and the grass was green. My friends and I used to have picnics here...it must have been a very long time ago... Yesterday, the ground was dusty because the grass had dried up. We just had our lunch there at one of the many empty picnic tables with benches. There was a nice breeze and many open parking spaces. I was afraid to even try to go to the restroom as there were sketchy people hanging around. We did walk closer to the water and took a few photos of the beautiful scenery, but had to cross the patchy lawn and avoided stepping on animal waste.I wouldn't bring visitors here, unless it was just a quick stop for the view of Downtown Honolulu, Aloha Tower, and Diamond Head. I would stay on alert mode and just do a brief visit.

This area is actually pretty cool...it kind of feels like a locals-only place. If you hang around though you may find out that unfortunately that has some very bad signs too. For example, if you don't pay attention to very particular signs you could find yourself in a sticky situation, and the people who are tasked with manning the park rude and condescending. As you come in you'll notice a sign that the park closes at 745 (745? Since when does a park close so early?). Right next to it is a sign that says you can camp here on weekends fri night - Sunday, and gives different weekend hours. DO NOT BELIEVE THAT SIGN. The gate closes at 745pm EVEN ON WEEKENDS when you can be in the park after. That sign means people can camp (if you register online), but no one cannot get in or out when the gate is closed. They close a big gate on either side, and they've put concrete barriers all around it so you have no escape. Why? Unknown. It doesn't keep homeless out, you'll still find a few of those late at night. There's a caretaker living on site (behind a wire fence where he's hard to access, mind you), and it took me more than 90 minutes and a lot of condescending comments from his whole family (or friends) and waiting for the most convenient time for them to come let me out. A fine way to represent "aloha". The caretaker's daughter (who finally opened the gate) was actually quite nice but by that point we have passed the point of no return. While I was waiting at the gate, no less than 10 people walked through. Several people made comments about how this happens all the time. I later asked neighbors and found out this place has a known reputation. People walking past the gate mentioned that they leave their cars outside the park when they camp so that if they need to go to the store they can. People have learned they have to work around these shenanigans. This park is a fine public space but it's really only for locals who happens to be in the know, and because of that I would call it mismanaged.

Sand Island Beach Park Recreation Area is one of many city & country managed beaches around the island. Sand Island itself is a heavily industrialized area of reclamated land; it's not pretty and it's not clean, but it's a necessary part of civilization. Despite this, they still managed to create a beautiful area for people to enjoy to enjoy the beach and views of O'ahu around it.There are positives and negatives to coming here. This is not a park I would bring visitors to, nor is it worthwhile coming out of your way to visit. The park is dirty with the classic red soils of these islands. It's hot and open; there are many shady pavilions and trees, but also huge open areas where the grass just can't stay alive. There is trash, feral cats, homeless people, and other negatives, but after reading other past experiences, all of these things seem to have gotten better. The smell may be the worst thing; depending on when you come, you're right next to one of the main sewage treatment plants on the island.If those items haven't turned you off, there are many reasons to come and enjoy this semi-secret place. The views are gorgeous. Take a long walk around the park and you'll start with a view of Honolulu Harbor and downtown; it's amazing how different it looks from the other side. Next, you have a long obscured view of the open ocean. At the far end, you'll be as close as you can be to the airport without being in a boat- if you're a fan of watching planes take off and land, this is the ideal spot to be. Parking here is free and beyond plentiful; I doubt I've ever seen more free open parking on this island. There are even shady places to leave your car. The park has a few large baseball diamonds; the one at the end is kept the nicest as it's used by clubs. This one has a new batting cage area. Restrooms aren't used as much and are relatively clean. There is a lot of room for family and group events, many of the shady grassy areas are adjacent to restrooms and water. The beaches themselves are beautiful with nice sand clean water; I haven't seen any direct runoff pipes. On the Ewa side, you can also take little trails around that lead to scrub land that feels like it's in the middle of nowhere. There is a playground right near the entrance. Swimming, fishing, and camping are all allowed.For those with interest in history: Sand Island was known as Quarantine Island and was used to keep ships from docking while being inspected. During World War II, the island was used as one of Hawaii's first interment camps. It was later converted to a POW camp. The park still has many wartime features, which you can explore and are easy to see from the road.Getting here is easy, just take Sand Island Access Road to the end, which leads right into the park and parking lots. It's a free place to play and explore.

Great place to view life around the industrial side of Honolulu and the beach appears clean with plenty of room to have a major gathering!Downside is the constant noise of recycling, industrial noises, aircraft flying overhead.Looks like a fun place to take the kids and fish!

Sand Island Beach Park is a State managed day use picnic spot and campground. You have to obtain a permit to camp. There's a decent stretch of sandy beach, with safe swimming right from shore. However be aware that this beach is adjacent to an industrial area. Both wastewater and refuse are processed nearby and occasionally there can be spills. As there are no lifeguards it's up to you to check out marine warnings before you go. DLNR website for Hawai'i will post these as will all the major surf reports, surf Like Surfline and Surf News Network. Long boarders will also surf at a couple spots out here too, so you may see some surfing too. It's a great beach for collecting unusual shells and sea glass and the occasional random rock that is sea polished and probably a remnant of when the area was a functional dock.