Last Updated on April 11, 2022 by Leslie Stroud
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One of our Kauai favorites by far: Queen’s Bath!
This was the primary reason we stayed on the North Shore of Kauai. We didn’t realize that we actually booked about a mile away.
This little gem is tucked neatly into a neighborhood and you’d never find it without looking it up. They purposefully don’t advertise it or put up anything but warning signs. We also found out later from some locals that locals DO NOT go in the winter and certainly DO NOT get in. Whoops! It’s just too dangerous overall and they lose people every year.
When I pressed what this means by “lose people”, that varies. People get slammed against the rocks, people get drawn out of the bath and into a high-surf ocean, and people are just taking pictures and get pulled off by a rouge wave. Sometimes they have to be rescued from the ocean by helicopter. People die every year. Horrible.
That being said, tourists (like us) are just ignoring this all the time. The gate was actually padlocked the second time we went, but there is a clear path around this gate. Both times we went, there were 20+ people. The small parking lot is always full and we actually parked elsewhere and walked in both times (out of the neighborhood).
We went before sunset around 4-5 pm, which is low tide. The first time it was much calmer. Our friends from Colorado were on a couple’s trip and came up to see it. It was SO wonderful to see friends. It was even more fun to do something with friends! We hiked there, got in, Nate (our friend) jumped off the rock multiple times, we snorkeled and, of course, Chris got amazing pictures.
We loved the waves rolling in and turning it bubbly and into a wave pool. The atmosphere is fun and relaxed. We couldn’t wait to come back with our two oldest kids.
On the second trip, we took Grandma, Lucy, and Grant (and left the rest with a sitter). I could tell immediately the surf was rougher. I was nervous. It was almost sunset. We almost didn’t get it- some people were warning us against it. I counseled the kids and frankly, just went with my gut. My gut let us get in for about five minutes- haha! We got in, got a few big waves, saw the bubbles, got freaked out, and got back out. The kids didn’t want to be in anymore. They could see from a rock inlet right next to the pool how serious the waves were.
So was it still worth it? Of course! It is amazing. A top highlight for sure. You have to balance it with safety, which is true of most exciting things in life.
