Beautiful local’s beach, Ho’okena Beach Park is 40 minutes south of Kailua. The park is two miles off highway 11, down a paved road. Parking is limited, but we found a spot even though we arrived at 11:30.
This is a gray sand beach situated in a protected cove, making it a nice place for an easy snorkel where you can see lots of yellow tangs close to shore (we even saw a sweet little green sea turtle). The park is super-clean and not crowded, it has some shade trees, a pavillion, and several picnic tables. There are several outside showers and working flush toilets.
Inga J Smith 