Hale Koa Outdoor Recreation Area

Stopped by to view the camp sites, cabanas, and the beach. I updated the information on this site and uploaded some new photos. The Marine base is fairly large but finding the cabanas using the directions on this site was easy. The camp sites are rustic and for tents only (a small van might fit). There's porta-potties in the area. The cabanas look fairly small and old, but I'm sure they would be fine for a short vacation. As with all the beaches on the island, this would be a great place to enjoy some relaxing time. The base isn't too far from Honolulu, but it's also not near the city traffic and high-rise buildings It's much quieter and prettier on this side of the island.

Oahu is familiar territory and this was our first time staying at the Kaneohe beach cottages. Overall, a very unique and relatively unspoiled area of shoreline, a rarity on the island. Pluses: - Ours was a modern, clean two bedroom cottage overlooking Kaneohe Bay with a full kitchen, comfortable beds and pillows, and clean linens/towels. Of note, there were no cockroaches in our cottage, a rarity in Hawaii. - Inn of the Corps staff stopped by each morning to offer fresh towels and take away trash and recyclables. - We enjoyed private though rocky access to the shoreline below our cottage (shared with other cottages). The near shore environment is shallow coral heads with small fish and the occasional turtle, sheltered by a reef. - Snorkeling inside the reef is easy but restricted to higher tide times to protect the coral. Seaward of the reef, the depths and wave action increase but the water is beautifully clear. Corals and sea life are abundant and pristine compared to other areas of Oahu.- Pyramid Beach, the main swimming/sunning/surfing beach, is just a short walk from the cottages.- MCBH is a large base with all the services and conveniences one would expect.- Security is tight. Marines man the main gate and a couple of checkpoints getting to the cottages. They were courteous and helpful in the best tradition of the Corps. Minuses: - As noted on the MCBH Inn of the Corps website, not all of the cottages are on the water. Ours, no. 1608, was atop a bluff. While the view was good, we envied the cottages on the water beneath us. - Pyramid Beach is subject to periodic closures and was closed during our stay. It’s a great place so this was a bummer.- We knew that MCBH is a hum of military activity with an airfield adjacent to the cottages, so we expected noise at any hour. The unpleasant surprise of our stay was extended night operations of V-22 tilt rotor aircraft at a practice hovering/landing area about 1/4 mile from our cottage. When hovering and landing, the V-22s produced a noise and vibration that made sleep impossible until these wrapped up around 0130. Fortunately, these did not reoccur the rest of our stay. Atop the bluff, I think we got the worst of the noise. The cottages on the water closer to Pyramid Rock were likely less impacted. - An active runway separates the cottages from the bulk of MCBH, and there were numerous restricted areas around us. As such, it was necessary to drive to anything else on base, and with Pyramid Beach closed, even the nearby O/senior enlisted club was inaccessible on foot. - A minor minus was the limited cleaning supplies in the cottage (a dish sponge, dishwashing liquid, a broom and a dustpan). The flooring looked clean, but quickly turned bare feet, the bathtub and bedsheets black with grime. The addition of a sponge mop and a roll paper towels would have been most welcome. Overall, we enjoyed our cottage and the unique opportunity to experience some of the most pristine and exclusive shoreline on Oahu. I would rate the experience five stars if not for the rough first night with the V-22s and constrained access to Pyramid Beach and base services.