Polo Beach is the informal name given to a small stretch of beach between Waialua and Dillingham Airfield on the north coast of Oahu. This beach is immediately east of a polo field.

Polo Beach has a history of nude use, despite "no nudity" signs that may be posted along the trail. However, random police patrols are unlikely here. Last time the police raided the beach and made arrests for mere nudity in 1998, four of the six who were arrested fought the charges and ultimately the case made it to the state supreme court. The high court's ruling affirmed that nude sunbathing is not inherently offensive or intended to cause affront to others and that nudists cannot be arrested for an "activity that only annoy[s] the police." In light of this ruling, deliberate meddling by the cops seems unlikely, but the ruling also was not a green light for nude bathing. Police still have the authority to act on complaints, so be discreet if you see textiles wandering the beach.

When you arrive at the beach from the access trail, the immediate area will most likely be empty. A walk of just a couple of minutes in either direction takes you to areas frequented by nudists. Straight nudists tend to go left (west); gay nudists tend to go right (east). In either of these small nearby zones, there are usually only half a dozen or so nudists (which, sadly, makes this the most established nude beach on Oahu). The two zones collectively span about 1/3 mile. Going west, after 5 minutes or so you will reach the edge of the polo field that gives the nude beach its informal name, and you should not be naked past that point. Going east, you should not be nude beyond the curve of the shoreline since you will be getting close to a residential area.

Mokuleia Beach Park is about 1.7 miles west of the trail to Polo Beach, opposite the Dillingham Airfield runway. Restrooms and showers are available there, and access is free. The area near Mokuleia Beach Park, incidentally, is where some scenes of the ABC series "Lost" were filmed.

VISUAL RESOURCES

GPS: 21.5797N, 158.1652W

city, island, state, country  Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

classification  3 (discretion recommended)

There are 6 placemarks related to this site.