Gay… Straight… Black… White… Local… Visitor… It’s all good in Hawaii!
Hawaii is a place for everyone, and that’s one of the many reasons I love living here. That goes for the gay community, too. Hawaii has a pretty active LGBT community and has a long history of being a place where all are welcome.
So, we thought this is a good time to let our readers “in” on our top 12 Hawaii gay beaches:
Oahu
- Diamond Head Lighthouse Beach: This stretch of beach is located past the Zoo area of Waikiki and just below the Diamond Head lighthouse. It’s a small strip of beach that’s littered with boulders between which sun bathers can camp out. This area is known to be a bit “cruzie,” and the unofficial nude beach begins at the end of Beach Road (just off Diamond Head Road) and goes for about six hundred feet along the water’s edge (nudity is illegal, though).
- Banzai Pipeline (Ehukai Beach Park): This is NOT a nude beach, but is very popular with the gay community on Oahu. It’s also quite famous: the massive tubes at Ehukai Beach Park make this one of the most dangerous surf spots in the world and one of the venues for the Triple Crown of Surfing.
- Queen’s Surf Beach: This stretch of beach is located in Kapiolani Park at the end of Waikiki, towards Diamond Head. According to Go Gay Hawaii, this non-nude beach is popular with surfers and tourists alike, and there’s no cruising. But it does offer opportunities for mixing and mingling. And, Queen’s Surf Beach is a great place to learn to surf or stand up paddleboard, since the waves are small and manageable.
Maui
- Little Beach (Puu Olai Beach): This is a very gay-popular beach and attracts gay men and nudist families (the gay hang-out is on the far side). The beach is blazingly hot (bring plenty of sunscreen) and there are no facilities, so be prepared to use the bushes if nature calls.
- Kaihalulu Beach: According to Go Gay Hawaii, this beach isn’t a “gay” beach exactly, but it makes the cut because of the amazing “red” sand there, which are actually more like red and black pebbles. Still very cool to see, but hard on the flip-flops!
- Wailea Beach: Wailea Beach is an “unofficially gay” beach. But according to Gay Cities, it’s often nude and mostly gay on weekdays (mixed on weekends).
Big Island:
- Honokohau Beach: According to Gay Cities, this beach has been unofficially adopted as Kona’s gay beach (the northern end of the trail leads to an unofficial gay, nude beach). But, in recent years, the police have set up shop here, so it’s not as “gay” or nude as it used to be.
- Kahena Beach: Go Gay Hawaii reports that this beach is secluded and popular as a nude beach, popular with mostly gay men. But this beach is extra-cool because you can swim out and cavort with the spinner dolphins!
- Wailea Beach: Go Gay Hawaii says that nude sunbathing is common here when police aren’t enforcing on beaches 67 and 69, and you’ll find great places to snorkel, swim and maybe even meet a few people!
Kauai:
- Donkey Beach: As you near the ocean, stay left and climb over to the beach. The far end is the gay area. This once had a reputation of being a nude beach, but law enforcement has cracked down on this, so use caution.
- Kauapea Beach (Secret Beach): Nude sunbathing is possible when permitted, and you’ll be treated to spectacular views.
- Lydgate State Park: This is a state park, so nude sunbathing is illegal here. But, according to Go Gay Hawaii, the beach has lifeguards and showers, and the most popular area for gay patrons is between the golf course and the condos.
Although ALL beaches in the Aloha State welcome gay patrons, these Hawaii gay beaches are places known to be gay-friendly and accepting — just like most of the people who live here.
