DK Travel : Honolulu & O’ahu : Outdoor

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Paikō Lagoon State Reserve

Its name deriving from a Portuguese former resident called Pico, the virtually unknown Paikō Peninsula offers birdwatching, fishing, snorkeling, and unprecedented seclusion. From Kalaniana’ole, turn right onto narrow Paikō Drive, park on the street and take the beach access trail to the water. Turn left (east) and find your spot past the second to last house. You’ll need to bring food and water with you, as it’s a remote area.
Pali Golf Course

In the absence of water hazards and bunkers, the challenge of this undulating landscape is wet and often windy weather. But even duffers can enjoy meandering down swale and up hillside on sunny days.
Pōka’i Bay Beach

This beautiful beach is the calmest and safest place for swimming in Wai’anae, so it’s no surprise to find it frequently thronged. It also has an unfortunate but deserved reputation as a place where car break-ins and beach burglaries occur, so take extra care with your belongings.
Punchbowl

The 150,000-year-old cone above the city of Honolulu has three identities. Its Hawaiian name, Pūowaina, means “hill of sacrifice” – it was an ancient place of ritual and royal burial. Punchbowl, its English name, refers to its shape. Today it is also the final resting place for more than 35,000 veterans of American wars in Asia and the Pacific.
Sacred Falls, Kaliuwa’a

Unfortunately, one of the most beautiful and beloved landmarks on O’ahu, located in Punalu’u, is likely to be off-limits for the foreseeable future. A tragic landslide in 1999 that killed eight people forced closure of the park. The state has found no practical way to assure safety in this narrow, cliff-lined defile.
Sandy Beach

“Sandy’s” is the bodyboarding capital of O’ahu. Unfortunately, it is also the site of a lot of serious accidents and frequent rescues. A steep drop-off at the sand’s edge means that waves are always pounding here, so only the most experienced should take on this surf, and everyone should take care of the treacherous back-wash, which frequently catches waders off-guard.
Sandy Beach

Renowned for the constant winds that make kite-flying a feature, Sandy Beach also has wicked waves, which routinely slam un-suspecting waders and body surfers into the rock-hard sand. This much-used beach is, therefore, one to treat with respect. So rule number one is: don’t turn your back on the ocean – here or anywhere else, for that matter.
Sans Souci

Grown up around a small resort where Robert Louis Stevenson stayed in the 1880s, Sans Souci is good for swimming, bodysurfing, and boogie boarding. Safe, calm, and shallow, it’s popular with families and also with the gay community.
Sunset Beach

In winter, this wide, golden strand is piled high, forming a steep, natural amphitheater for watching surfers attack the awesome waves. In summer, changing tides flatten the beach out, making it more sunbathing-friendly. All year long, though, dangerous currents make swimming risky. Park facilities have recently been added across the street.
The Golf Courses at Turtle Bay

Two courses are showcased on this 880-acre resort on O’ahu’s remote North Shore. The George Fazio Course has wide fairways and deep bunkers; the Palmer Course (by Arnie, of course) incorporates a “tropical links” of sun, wind, and sand on the front nine and a forested upland nine on the back.