The Maunalua Bay Beach Park is a paradise for scuba divers. There are about 20 dive sites that range from coral dives to wreck dives. Artificial wrecks such as the Kahala Barge, the Baby Barge, or the LCU wreck can be explored when diving. The Corsair Wreck is a real dive site that is also located here. Very beautiful sea caves, China Wall, Fantasy reef, spitting caves, and angler's reef can be explored with the coral dive. Boaters, kayakers, paddlers, canoe, and picnickers find the location provides the ideal conditions for their sport. The beach almost is not ideal for swimming, the water is shallow and rocky.
Scenic views can also be seen from the beach. Koko Head and Koko crater can be seen on the eastern side of the bay offering beautiful photographic views. It is also the reason for the name of the beach. Maunalua in Hawaiian means "two mountains" referring to both Koko crater and Koko Head.
The beach is man-made, developed by Henry J. Kaiser during the period when the Hawaii Kai Marina was being built. The beautiful white sand on the beach had been made from about 535,000 square feet of coral and other material dredged from the bottom of the ocean and placed in low areas all along the shore. Also, the dredge was a boat channel which, when completed, was donated by Kaiser to the city of Honolulu.
The park consists of a beautiful picnic area, it has the amenities, restrooms, phones, but no lifeguards. The Hawaii Kai Marina used to be a fishpond named Kuapa. The pond originally covered some 523 acres and was contained by a 5,000 foot wall. On the west end of the park used to be a canoe storage building or "halau" in Hawaiian. You will find many dive boats and rental companies all along the beach renting jet skiing, scuba diving, and many other equipment for practicing water activities.