Ala Moana Beach Park, Public beach park in Honolulu, US

Ala Moana Beach Park is a 100-acre public park in Honolulu featuring a half-mile sandy beach that slopes gently into the ocean. An offshore reef protects the water between Waikiki and downtown, creating calm swimming conditions.

The site transformed from a swampy marshland and dumping ground in the 1930s into a recreational destination. During World War II, the grounds served as a military staging zone supporting Pacific operations.

The park was renamed Ala Moana, "path [to the] sea," in 1947, after sixteen years as Moana Park. Its neighbor Magic Island was officially renamed 'Aina Moana, "land [from the] sea," in 1972 for its dredged coral fill, yet residents still use the old name. McCoy Pavilion hosts the annual Greek Festival and the Hawaiian Scottish Festival and Highland games.

The park closes nightly from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., and police issue citations to enforce it. The east end near Diamond Head has a sandy bottom, while the middle and west sections have rocks at the water's edge, so pick your entry point accordingly. Lifeguards are on duty daily, and the ocean floor drops off quickly.

The deep swimming area is a former boat channel dredged through the coral reef in the late 1920s to link Kewalo Basin with Ala Wai Harbor; it is 20 to 30 feet deep and 1,000 yards long. In 1955 the Hawaiian Dredging Company closed its west end with a landfill, now Kewalo Basin Park.