About Pupukea Surf Travel
Dig your feet into the sand at Pupukea and you’ll immediately understand why the North Shore of Oahu is considered surfing’s supreme Mecca. To the west, Pipeline, Backdoor and Off The Wall fire away, while to the east Gas Chambers, Rocky Point and Kammieland are right there on offer. As far as world-class surf goes, there may be more epic spots within walking distance of Pupukea than anywhere else in the world. To be specific, the surf spot at Pupukea refers to a fun, occasionally punchy beachbreak-type setup between The Ehukai Beach Park and Gas Chambers. Sand-bottomed with occasional rocks, during the wintertime season Pupukea is the refuge of grommets, pasty surf tourists, lazy surf industry types and everyone else that’s too scared to get in the water elsewhere on the North Shore. In all seriousness, Pupukea can be a lot of fun when the conditions provide. It can be wedgy with rippable reforms through the inside. And it doesn’t discriminate, lefts and rights can be found depending on the swell direction and the swell period.
Surf Crowds
On a medium swell with clean conditions during the heart of the Triple Crown season Pupukea can look more like Huntington Beach than the North Shore, but come early or late season and things spread out relatively nicely.
Surf Hazards
This is the North Shore, don’t be a donkey. Even though Pupukea isn’t Pipeline it doesn’t mean you can run herd out there. Mind the locals. The break can be more powerful than you think, don’t underestimate it when it’s breaking-to-bottom. Every once in awhile a Tiger shark may buzz the lineup, but those incidents are infrequent.
Surf Pollution
The water at Pupukea is relatively clean. There aren’t any storm drains or sources for runoff in the immediate area, but that doesn’t mean big winter storms can’t turn the water to chocolate milk. The beach tends to erode quite substantially during the winter months, but for now, all of the beachfront houses remain out of harm’s way.
Best Surf Seasons in Pupukea
1) Winter
(December-February) This is the time to go to Pupukea and the North Shore. The world’s best surfers are in town, the North Pacific is (hopefully) sending a steady train of swells to Oahu and it’s on. Pupukea will hold a mid-sized north, northwest or west swell, but starts to get a little nuts about the time it goes double overhead.
2) Fall
(September-November) After the summer slowdown, things start to get interesting at Pupukea again around October and hopefully a few early-season swells from the North Pac slide in before the Triple Crown season starts in mid-November.
3) Spring
(March-May) Spring is great for Pupukea because hopefully there are plenty of late-season swells and the crowds are gone. If you want to experience the North Shore and surf its myriad breaks with less people around this is the time of year to go.
4) Summer
(June-August) Pupukea is better for snorkeling than surfing during the summer months, but that’s not saying much given the break’s sand bottom. If you’re thinking about surfing anywhere on the North Shore during the summer you may want to consider a stay in Waikiki instead.
Directions to Pupukea
If you’re flying to Oahu you’re going to be flying into Honolulu. If you’re heading over to “the country” to surf Pupukea and the North Shore, take the H2 freeway. It’s about 30 miles but can take over an hour depending on traffic. To get to Pupukea, park near the Ehukai Beach Park. Pupukea will be the beach to the east (towards Rocky Point) if you walk out on the sand at the lifeguard tower.