Honopū

Honopū is on the Nā Pali coast of Kauaʻi, a beach in two halves joined by a natural arch cut through the headland between them. The valley behind it is uninhabited and has been since the nineteenth century.

Its rules are what set it apart. Boats may not land anywhere on this stretch of coast, and the Kalalau Trail — the eighteen-kilometre hiking route along Nā Pali — does not reach it; the ridge between Kalalau and Honopū is impassable without technical climbing. The only lawful way onto the sand is to swim from a vessel anchored offshore, through open Pacific water, and back again. That single fact keeps the beach as empty as any in the United States.

The two beaches sit beneath cliffs of around a hundred and fifty metres, with a stream running through the arch that connects them. Surf on this coast is heavy from October to April and the swim is not attempted in winter; even in summer the shore break is substantial and people have been injured getting in and out. There is no shelter, no water and no help.

Nothing is built and nothing may be. The valley holds archaeological sites of significance to Native Hawaiians, camping is prohibited, and the state asks visitors to treat the place as a cultural site rather than a beach. Helicopters and boats pass offshore all day; almost nobody actually lands. Kalalau, the next valley east, is reachable on foot by the eighteen-kilometre trail and is the one place on this coast where camping is permitted with a permit — which is why it takes almost all of the Nā Pali foot traffic.

You may not land a boat and there is no trail. The only lawful arrival is to swim ashore through open Pacific water from a vessel anchored offshore, in summer, with a competent operator — and for almost everybody the right answer is to see it from the water and leave it alone. The valley holds sites that matter to Native Hawaiians and camping is prohibited.