The Bowl, Surf, Hanalei

Hanalei, Hawaii

Managed by Surfrider Foundation - Kauai Chapter

The Bowl is an iconic surf spot off of beautiful Hanalei Bay, formed by a reef. Black Pot Beach Park is the entry spot for the Bowl, where long ago the community kept a large black pot full of food. The surf can be large at times, with strong currents. The park and Hanalei Pier area are great for families, with bathrooms, and picnic areas. You can also camp here on weekends and holidays only. The water in Hanalei Bay is usually clean, except for heavy rains causing a Brown Water Advisory from the Hawaii Department of Health.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on February 8th, 2020. Surfrider Foundation - Kauai Chapter updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on March 9th, 2020 at 2:48 PM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Report Pollution

Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task force is a volunteer-run, citizen science initiative and water quality monitoring program. The Kauai Surfrider Chapter samples water quality at 35 locations on a monthly basis.
The goal of Surfrider Kauai’s Blue Water Task Force is to provide water quality data to the public so that they can properly assess public health risk in determining where to enjoy our beaches and surf breaks. Data is also provided to Hawaii Department of Health and Federal EPA to assist in screening and monitoring recreational waters so that they can take action to improve public safety.
The Blue Water Task Force tests both marine and freshwater sites for enterococcus, a coliform bacteria that indicates fecal pollution. Results are compared to water quality criteria established by the EPA to protect public health in recreational waters. Test results are expressed as the Most Probable Number (MPN) of enterococcus cfu (colony forming units) per 100 mL seawater by using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 MPN Table. All water quality results are posted online for anyone to view or download at go.surfrider.org/BWTF. Monthly reports are posted in the local newspaper, broadcasted on two local radio stations, and distributed via email and on social media. Results are also sent to Hawaii Dept. of Health and regional EPA.
When a site is marked Green, they have met the recreational water quality criteria (between 0 and 130 MPN/100 mL). When marked Red, results have exceeded recreational water quality criteria (above 130 MPN/100 mL). All data can be viewed at go.surfrider.org/BWTF. Any additional questions about Kauai’s Blue Water Task Force program or our results can also be addressed to Karl Berg, cberg@pixi.com.

Water Quality Graph