Ironwood Beach / Hawaii / United States

Popular with surfers due to the big waves that can be found here, this is also a decent spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing.  It needs a bit of experience to handle though, so it isn’t really suitable for beginners.

The beach is sandy and is a decent size, forming the middle of a half-moon shaped bay with large rocky outcrops at either end.  It’s quite a nice place to be, it’s easy to see how the swell is working and how the shape of the bay affects it, and you don’t feel like you’re out in the wide open ocean. 

Surfers come out here when the swell is working from the west or north, and the waves will be well over 3m when that happens.  The water is shallow which makes the waves come in fairly quickly, although they don’t have a massive amount of power in them.  The best wind comes from the northwest at anything from 15 – 25 knots, and you’ll get this direction most commonly in fall and spring.  Summer winds are still strong, but tend to more gusty easterlies which blow cross-shore.

Parking is about 5 minutes walk from the beach, on Ironwood Lane or Ridge Road.  There is a shower on the beach, but no more home comforts than that.

There are rocks on the beach and in the water so you’ll need to steer clear of these, though they are at both ends of the bay and are easy to see.  The reef also gets exposed at low tide.