Hale'iwa Beach Park is just north of the town by the same name and is considered the heart of O'ahu's North Shore. The large grassy park and views of Ka'ena Point make this a beautiful and popular stop. The beach is sandy, not very wide, and has a rocky shore bottom, so it's not the best for swimming. The name Hale'iwa translates to "the house of the frigatebird," a common and fascinating bird in Hawai'i that can stay aloft for weeks and even months at a time, thousands of feet in the air. This beach is known for its sunset watching and has a perfect northwest orientation to please sunset spectators.

The town of Hale'iwa is what the North Shore is all about. It feels like a real surf town—not one just made for the image—complete with old beat-up trucks topped with surf racks and young Hawaiians who only want to surf or talk to visiting tourist girls. This is where big-wave surfing was born, and there is no other rival to the North Shore in legendary status. You might have a nicer individual wave somewhere else, but only in Hale'iwa will you find so many so close together that share the potential to get as large.

Restrooms, showers, picnic areas, a basketball court, a volleyball court, a baseball field, and parking lot are all available here. The water is best for swimming in the summer, but it gets huge in the winter thanks to the storms in the Bering Sea at that time of year.