Military Beaches: PARC and Hickam

Even prior to arriving in Hawaii, I heard so many great things about this “military only” beach, Bellows. The beaches here are actually all open to the public, but there are several 0n military installations across the island, which require an ID check to make it past the gate. Anyway, Bellows boasts some crystal clear turquoise water and powdery sand. It’s a bit of a drive to get there, but it’s always been a favorite.

For the first time since Juli was born, we were finally able to spend a decent amount of time at the beach over the weekend. You’re not supposed to use sunscreen on the little ones until they’re six months old, so that kept us away for a while. Now that we can lotion her up, we took full advantage and spent time at two of the military beaches here on the island.

John had a work function on Friday over at the Pililaau Army Recreation Center (PARC), so we made it a family event. PARC is located in Waianae, which is a little bit of a drive from where we live on Schofield, but it’s certainly a worthwhile trip. Just like Bellows, PARC has crystal clear water and cabins for rental.

Other than having to drive through the gate and show ID, PARC isn’t much of an Army Installation. Pretty much just the beach and some cabins owned by the Army. As far as I know, there isn’t a shoppette or gas station like Bellows has.

The other beach that we visited was the Hickam Beach, on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. This was a first time visit, but I expect to be back. Unlike PARC, Hickam Beach is actually on base, so there was a little bit of navigating through and speed limits that made it like a 15 minute drive from gate to beach. Definitely worth the trip though!

We arrived at Hickam Beach around 9:45 and were one of the first families there. The water was super calm, which is perfect for the older two girls. They were able to run back and forth into the water without us necessarily having to be right on top of them.

There was a rental shack on the beach which offered things like chairs, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards. The prices were great too! About $25 for a full day of SUP. Much nicer than having to rent it on post and drive it to the beach. Another great part about Hickam is that there was a full commissary that we were able to pick up lunch at before heading home. Right across from the commissary was the PX, if a food court is more your thing.

The only downside to Hickam was that a family came and put their stuff three feet from us. I’m not even exaggerating. It was a tad annoying, considering it was still early, and there was hardly anyone else on the beach. Why anyone would want to be so close to strangers in beyond me, but they didn’t seem to mind. I did mind their kid getting sand all over us and throwing food to feed the swarm of birds that they attracted over.

Even with the minor annoyances, we had a great time. I’m looking forward to returning and definitely trying the beach on the Marine Corps base.