Waimea River Break, North Shore, Oahu
BEFORE PEOPLE START MAKING ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE, I'D LIKE YOU TO TAKE A SECOND TO THINK ABOUT WHERE ALL RIVERS LEAD. Here's a hint - (into the ocean!)
When it has been raining and the waimea river fills up to capacity it breaks through the sand and flows into the ocean. It starts with a trickle then turns into a raging river. Once the water is finished flowing, the waves from the ocean build up the sand again and block the river from flowing into the ocean.
What is happening here is people are speeding up the process a little.
For all the worriers out there who think the beach is now ruined - after a few hours of this the river is blocked from flowing into the ocean again by the sand that gets built up from the legendary Waimea Bay waves. All goes back to normal after a few hours. Letting the river flow into the ocean like this is also beneficial to the Waimea valley upstream. If the river wasn’t allowed to flow into the ocean, the Waimea valley would flood anytime there is a lot of rain. The Waimea Valley is home to a beautiful botanical garden And a farmers market that is enjoyed by many visitors a day. So flooding there would be unfortunate.

The world renowned Waimea Bay life guards at this beach know when the river is full enough and when the sand can be dug out. We tried tried starting it the day before and they stopped us. The next day we showed up at the beach and noticed people (locals) had brought shoves and the life guards let us start digging. They supervise to keep everyone safe while allowing people to have some fun. The beach is not ruined, no one is stranded - you can get to the parking lot or road from either side of the river mouth. And honestly it was one of the most memorable days we’ve had at this beach. If you’re in Oahu in the winter, watch for a high river at Waimea Bay and you might get lucky. Sometimes the river breaks through on its own during the night and you miss it. You’ll know if it just happened if the river banks are really high and steep. And if they are, you missed it but the high sand banks are really fun to play on. I believe this happens several times over the winter months depending on rain fall.