Kohala Lighthouse

Kohala Lighthouse is a rugged, reef-fringed jewel that demands respect. This secluded, localized break sits atop an uneven reef platform, where the main peak unleashes a thick, powerful left that peels with authority across the inner bay. The right off the same peak offers a fleeting, barreling moment before rocky outcrops truncate the ride—short but intense. When the swell pumps, a secondary right forms directly in front of the lighthouse, sectioning down the headland with a larger, more imposing peak further outside. Across the headland, a lefthander rolls in, adding another dimension to this raw, unpolished lineup.

Best Surf Season (October - March)

Kohala Lighthouse sits on the raw, north-facing edge of Hawaii's Big Island, trading the calm lee conditions of the Kona side for the full force of the North Pacific. October may start modest in size at 1.6m (5.2ft), but the period has already jumped to 10.8s, and by November average heights push to 1.9m (6.2ft) and stay there through March. With the Aleutian Low cranking up, a steady conveyor belt of extratropical storms rumbles across the North Pacific and sends long-period groundswell toward the Hawaiian chain. Swell periods sit between 10.8 and 12.5 seconds during this window, which translates to powerful, organized waves at the lighthouse. This is also when the odds of a light S/SW offshore breeze are highest, especially around frontal passages and when the North Pacific High drifts east. The beach faces north, so the N, NNE, NE, NW and NNW groundswells have a direct, unrefracted path into the reef. When a winter swell lines up with a land breeze, Kohala Lighthouse is one of the heaviest, most rewarding waves on the island.