Map › USA › Maui - Kite Beach (Kanaha) › Lanes
Hawaii · Maui North Shore · Maui County · Paia
Lanes
also known as Hamakua Poko, H-Poko, Wana Beach
Nearby Sugar Cove 5 km · Baldwin Beach 6 km · Kite Beach (Kanaha) 9 km · Flash Beach 10 km · Kihei 22 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
09:00 · 18:00
Usually up by 9:00, building through the morning to a peak in the early to mid afternoon, then holding until about 18:00.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
locals call it trade winds / Kona
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Usually up by 9:00, building through the morning to a peak in the early to mid afternoon, then holding until about 18:00.
Typical strength
15-35 knots through the trade season, with afternoons commonly over 20 and the peak between roughly 13:00 and 17:00. This is the most windward launch on the north shore and it runs a notch stronger than Kanaha. Regional north-shore figures; there is no measurement on the reef itself.
Thermal or synoptic
trade wind and Kona/synoptic
The quiver, in words
Indicative for 75-85 kg, with no spot-specific size table published: about 7-9 m on a normal trade-wind afternoon from May to October, 5-6 m when the trades are hard, and 10-12 m on the rare light SW Kona day. Reckon on going one to two sizes smaller here than you would at Kanaha, because it blows harder on this corner.
Direction to shore
Trade-wind flow is described as side-offshore at the launch; prevailing trades at Ho'okipa are roughly parallel to shore.
Dominant direction
NE/E trade wind around 70-90 degrees; SW Kona around 225 degrees can also work.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan40
- Feb75
- Mar67
- Apr, riders' month86
- May, riders' month84
- Jun, riders' month100
- Jul, riders' month100
- Aug, riders' month96
- Sep, riders' month94
- Oct, riders' month71
- Nov, riders' month77
- Dec61
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 10Jan25°
- 15Feb25°
- 14Mar24°
- 16Apr25°
- 16May25°
- 18Jun26°
- 20Jul26°
- 18Aug26°
- 17Sep27°
- 14Oct27°
- 15Nov26°
- 13Dec26°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40% | 10.4 kt | ENE | 22.7°C | 25.3°C |
| Feb | 75% | 15.3 kt | ENE | 22.7°C | 24.5°C |
| Mar | 67% | 14.3 kt | ENE | 23.4°C | 24.3°C |
| Apr | 86% | 16.4 kt | ENE | 24°C | 24.6°C |
| May | 84% | 15.7 kt | ENE | 24.6°C | 24.9°C |
| Jun | 100% | 18 kt | ENE | 25.5°C | 25.6°C |
| Jul | 100% | 19.7 kt | ENE | 26.1°C | 26.3°C |
| Aug | 96% | 18 kt | ENE | 26.4°C | 26.4°C |
| Sep | 94% | 16.9 kt | ENE | 26.4°C | 26.7°C |
| Oct | 71% | 14 kt | ENE | 25.9°C | 26.5°C |
| Nov | 77% | 15.4 kt | ENE | 24.9°C | 26°C |
| Dec | 61% | 13.4 kt | ENE | 23.7°C | 25.6°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
sea
Standing depth
Shallow reef/bench at entry; riders walk over reef before reaching deeper water.
Tides
Low tide is better on small days; high tide is better on big days and makes launch easier.
Temperature
27°C summer · 23°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorts or rash vest in normal conditions; reef booties strongly recommended for the reef walk.
Currents
Strong current can run downwind of the last exposed rock; big Ho'okipa days can have a rip through the rights.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
7 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: small
Somewhere else
Sugar Cove, 5 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Small sandy beach and reef launch off Hana Highway just west of Ho'okipa, at a pull-off between Ho'okipa and Mama's Fish House. The way to the water is over sharp reef.
Space
small
Rules & access
- 2026: Maui north-shore kiteboarding runs under FAA waiver conditions - no kiteboarding in the OGG runway corridor, which is 2 nautical miles out from the runway end and half a nautical mile each side, official sunrise to sunset only, lines no longer than 125 ft and the kite no higher than 125 ft above sea level, and the rider carrying responsibility for seeing and avoiding aircraft and non-participants.
- 2026: within the Ho'okipa area kiting is allowed only at Lanes, and windsurfing at Ho'okipa is closed before 11:00. 2026: check in with the Ho'okipa lifeguards before you ride; one whistle blast is a warning, two means you leave, three means every kiter comes out of the water.
- 2026: surfers have right of way, keep at least one kite length off them, and if there are ten or more surfers and windsurfers in the water at Ho'okipa the kiters stay out.
- 2026: keep 300 ft off humpback whales in winter.
- 2026: island guidance is kite leash yes, board leash no, and carry a hook knife. 911 in an emergency.
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Wear reef booties; you are walking on urchins and tube coral with the kite up.
- Check in with the Ho'okipa lifeguards before you kite the Ho'okipa and Lanes area.
- Write a phone number on your board and use a leash in the waves.
- If you are self-rescuing toward Mama's, line the last big rock up with the gate behind it.
- Self-launch dead downwind and keep the kite straight overhead rather than out to sea; that is where the clean air is under the bluffs.
- The island rule set says kite leash yes and board leash no, while wave-specific advice for this coast says the opposite. Settle it before you are standing on the reef.
- Learn the lifeguard whistle code before you go out: one blast warning, two leave, three all kiters out.
- Winter brings humpbacks through here and you owe them 300 ft, which is further than it looks from the water.
Getting there
Airport
Kahului Airport (OGG)
Route
From Kahului, drive northeast on Hana Highway toward Ho'okipa. Lanes is the pull-off just before and just west of Ho'okipa Beach Park.
Transfer
20 min
Staying
Nearest practical bases are Paia, Kahului and the wider Maui north-shore and south-shore areas. Exact lodging guidance is unconfirmed.
No-wind days
Watch the surf at Ho'okipa, look for turtles, drive the coast, eat in Paia, or head up Haleakala.
Photos
FAQ
Is Lanes suitable for beginners?
No, Lanes is rated advanced because riders must fly the kite while walking over shallow reef in gusty, bluff-affected wind.
When is the best time to kite at Lanes?
Trade winds are steadiest from April through November, while the biggest wave swells tend to arrive between September and May.
What is the wind like at Lanes?
The NE/E trade wind is side-offshore and can be gusty and fluky near the bluffs, though a rarer SW Kona wind also works.
What are the main hazards?
Hazards include a shallow reef with sea urchins and sharp coral, strong currents near the rocks, and a difficult reef launch and landing.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Several Maui schools operate nearby, including Kiteboarding School of Maui, Aqua Sports Maui and Action Sports Maui.
Last updated: August 2026