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Banzai Pipeline, Pupukea, HI

Photo: Mat-fa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorIconicOutdoor AdventureFree

Banzai Pipeline

Ehukai Beach Park, off Kamehameha Hwy · Pupukea, HI

Why you should go…

Banzai Pipeline is a reef break off Ehukai Beach Park in Pupukea, where waves break in shallow water just above a sharp, cavernous reef and form hollow tubes. Waves average 9 feet and can reach 20, and the break hosts contests such as the Pipe Masters. For most visitors this is a place to watch from the sand, since the break is for experienced surfers. The name dates to December 1961, when a surf film crew with Bruce Brown passed a pipeline being built along the adjacent Kamehameha Highway.

  • #surfing
  • #north shore
  • #beach
  • #big waves
  • #surf competitions

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Banzai Pipeline, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

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