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Hawaii · Oahu North Shore · Honolulu County · Waialua
Mokuleia Beach Park
also known as Mokuleia, Mokes, Mokule'ia Beach Park
Nearby Laniakea 12 km · Hukilau Beach 29 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Trades run day and night, so there is no thermal start time to wait for. What Mokes adds is a daytime reinforcement that needs a clear sky: on an open-sky trade day the wind builds through the day, and when cloud backs up against the mountains behind the beach it often shuts off. Check the mountains before you check anything else.
The wind
locals call it trade winds
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Trades run day and night, so there is no thermal start time to wait for. What Mokes adds is a daytime reinforcement that needs a clear sky: on an open-sky trade day the wind builds through the day, and when cloud backs up against the mountains behind the beach it often shuts off. Check the mountains before you check anything else.
Typical strength
There is no usable measurement at the beach. The station that once sat here stopped reporting and its 2012-2015 annual average of 6 knots reads as a sheltered land figure, well below what the water gets on a trade day. What is documented instead is frequency: trades are in place 80 to 95 percent of days from May through September, and they weaken from October to April as the belt shifts south.
Thermal or synoptic
trade wind
The quiver, in words
No local measurement to size from. Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider on clear-sky summer trades: 8 to 12 m covers most of it, with the 9 m the day-in-day-out kite and a 12 m for soft mornings and the shoulder months.Size to stay powered rather than to squeeze the light end, because being underpowered over shallow reef with a downwind current is the expensive mistake here.
Direction to shore
side-onshore to onshore
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan27
- Feb44
- Mar32
- Apr23
- May11
- Jun, riders' month25
- Jul, riders' month29
- Aug, riders' month24
- Sep, riders' month13
- Oct11
- Nov28
- Dec21
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- 27%Jan25°
- 44%Feb25°
- 32%Mar25°
- 23%Apr25°
- 11%May26°
- 25%Jun27°
- 29%Jul27°
- 24%Aug27°
- 13%Sep28°
- 11%Oct27°
- 28%Nov27°
- 21%Dec26°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27% | 42% | 34% | 10.7 kt | SSW | 14:00 | 22.7°C | 25.3°C | 62 |
| Feb | 44% | 61% | 54% | 12.3 kt | ENE | 13:00 | 22.7°C | 24.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 32% | 63% | 45% | 11.5 kt | ENE | 13:00 | 23.3°C | 24.7°C | 62 |
| Apr | 23% | 48% | 28% | 10.5 kt | ENE | 14:00 | 23.8°C | 25.1°C | 60 |
| May | 11% | 32% | 19% | 9.5 kt | E | 14:00 | 24.4°C | 25.7°C | 62 |
| Jun | 25% | 52% | 33% | 10.7 kt | ENE | 13:00 | 25.5°C | 26.5°C | 60 |
| Jul | 29% | 61% | 44% | 11.5 kt | ENE | 13:00 | 26.1°C | 26.9°C | 62 |
| Aug | 24% | 68% | 42% | 11.6 kt | ENE | 15:00 | 26.5°C | 27.3°C | 62 |
| Sep | 13% | 50% | 27% | 10.3 kt | ENE | 14:00 | 26.5°C | 27.6°C | 60 |
| Oct | 11% | 35% | 16% | 9.9 kt | ENE | 14:00 | 25.8°C | 27.4°C | 62 |
| Nov | 28% | 52% | 42% | 11.3 kt | ENE | 13:00 | 24.8°C | 26.6°C | 60 |
| Dec | 21% | 37% | 29% | 10.1 kt | NE | 14:00 | 23.5°C | 25.8°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
sea
Standing depth
Shallow reef right off the launch, with an inner lagoon behind it. Not a place to practise in standing depth: the reef is shallow and comes close to the surface at low tide.
Tides
The tide swing on this coast is small, roughly 0.6 m from the higher high to the lower low and nearer 0.4 m on an average day (island figure, no gauge at the beach). It is still decisive, because the reef sits close to the surface: low water shallows or exposes it and raises the price of a crash.
Temperature
27°C summer · 24°C winter
Wetsuit
No wetsuit. A rash guard and foot protection matter more, since the launch is a slippery ledge and shallow reef sits just offshore.
Currents
A longshore current runs downwind close to shore, and it gets strong when the surf is up.
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
3 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: medium
Somewhere else
Laniakea, 12 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Beach-park launch near Dillingham Airfield, the only beach park with facilities on the shoreline between Waialua and Kaena Point. Locals rig on the wind-shadowed grass by the parking lot.Visitors and intermediate riders use the east end of the beach, where the bottom is sand and there is room to lay lines out; along the rest of the park you are launching off a slippery ledge with shallow reef just offshore. Parking is limited, and there are showers and lawn.
Space
medium
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Bring booties: the launch is a slick ledge and the reef sits just off the beach.
- Lay your lines out at the east end, where the bottom is sand and there is room.
- Stay off it at low tide unless you know the reef and can pay for a crash.
- Watch the mountains; the wind often dies when cloud stacks up on them.
- Treat head-high surf as expert-only, and remember North Shore surf rises fast.
- Ride with someone. There are no lifeguards here and no kite rescue.
- The inner lagoon behind the reef is the intermediate water; the two breaks outside it are the wave zone, and the inner one is fast and hollow.
- Park early. The lot is small and there is nowhere else to leave a car.
Getting there
Airport
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Honolulu
Route
Drive from Honolulu toward Waialua and the Mokuleia/Kaena Point end of the North Shore; a car is the practical way to carry gear and check windward or North Shore alternatives.
Cost level
high
Staying
Stay in Haleiwa, Waialua, Mokuleia rentals/camping where permitted, or Honolulu/Waikiki with a longer drive.
No-wind days
North Shore surf watching, Waialua/Haleiwa food and shops, Kaena Point walks, beach walks, fishing, snorkeling only when surf is low, and skydiving near Dillingham Airfield.
Photos
FAQ
Is Mokuleia suitable for beginners?
No, the shallow reef makes it unsuitable for beginners, though the inner lagoon works for intermediate freestyle riding.
When is the best time to kite?
Summer trade-wind season, June through September, is best, while winter brings bigger waves and expert-only conditions.
What is the wind like?
NE/ENE trade winds often turn on with a local thermal effect in clear skies, but can shut down when clouds build over the mountains.
What are the hazards?
Hazards include shallow reef exposed at low tide, a slippery ledge launch, a downwind longshore current, and no lifeguards at the beach park.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Kiteboarding Paradise Hawaii and Honolulu Kite School both operate on Oahu.
Last updated: August 2026