Are you an equestrian lover who prefers a more rustic experience when you visit Hawaii? Horse camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the state. Find Hawaii equestrian campgrounds nearby with ease on The Dyrt.
Nāmakanipaio Campground is located 31.5 miles south of Hilo on Highway-11 at 4,000' elevation. It is a large, open grassy area with tall eucalyptus and 'ōhi'a trees. This campground has restrooms, water, picnic tables and barbecue pits. Campfires are permitted in the barbeque pits only. If there are more than 2 people in your party, you can expand to 4 people per site with another tent. Maximum stay is 7 days.
Bellows Field Beach Park is located on a beautiful stretch of windward beach and holds fifty campsites. It is also a part of an active military training area. Campgrounds are not available before 12 noon on Friday. Bellows camping is closed between the hours of 8 p.m and 6 a.m. and no one is allowed to enter. Campers must remain in their designated camping area during those hours. A printed permit is required to camp in this park. All fees are non-refundable. Facilities 50 campsites total 2 Comfort Stations Outdoor Showers 2 Lifeguard Towers Limited parking
$6 / night
Legend
Roddy efficient grass sites - big enough for a couple or snag multiple for a family. Little cabins you can rent too. Bbq at each site l, mowed grass, bathrooms and sinks. Grab dinner at volcano house and have all day and night to explore the NP
Scout
It was a great experience for all us. Nice scenic view of the camp.
RangerThe campground was lovely. Great location, just down the road from Volcano House (where you go to check in). We stayed in a cabin and it was excellent. The doors have key cars swipe (don't forget your key, the doors lock automatically behind you!) The shower was good and even the complimentary shower gel in the women's shower was nice! Dinner at Volcano House was good. I only wish we had stayed more than one night to be able to explore the area more.
Ranger
While in HI, for a travel job we got to experience this beautiful island. Molokai is not only beautiful, but it has the full range of landscapes, from beach to mountains, from desert-like atmosphere to rain forest. The beaches are not only full of beautiful white sand, but lacking crowds of people! It is the most laidback of all of the islands, and probably has the most Hawaiians still living there. The people are so nice and friendly. There is so much history on such a small island. If you want a truly relaxing vacation, this is the spot!
GuideThere is no park entrance fee but there is a cost to some. The views here are amazing and Molokai is a very uninhabited island, so this place is very peaceful.
Guide
This campground has extremely close access to the beach, which is nice, and it's not far from Kailua. The individual sites aren't really marked, so it feels a little like a free for all, especially if you're arriving on Saturday. The area where all of the tent spots are is all sand, so be prepared with whatever vehicle you're driving. The bathrooms were decent. The campsites were all very crowded and loud throughout the weekend, but most everyone cleared out before Sunday evening.
My campsite was right by the bathrooms, and closer to the beach than most others, which was nice.
ScoutThis website is in error. There are no dogs allowed on ANY Hawaii State Campground!!! Don't know if you know this or not. So if you have a dog in Hawaii, you cannot bring your loved one(s) camping anywhere. Too bad.
RangerAs others have said, the hike in and out of the canyon is not easy. But the reward is being totally isolated and quiet down in the canyon. So gorgeous!
The main thing that we learned the hard way is that the river that is near the campground can become impassable after a rainstorm. We left our camp to go for a day hike further into the canyon, and crossed the river with no issue. There was a downpour while we were on the other side of the river, and weren't able to cross back to get to our camp. We had to spend the night on the other side where thankfully there was another shelter. Luckily we had some food and our water filter and hammocks, and someone left a brand new sleeping bag that we used to keep warm. We were able to cross back over the next morning.
Also, our car got broken into where we left it parked on the road. Dont leave anything valuable in the car!
Despite being stranded and getting our car broken into, we also got engaged in the canyon...so this was definitely my most memorable backpacking trip.
TravelerThis campground is beautiful. The best sites are waterfront. You need to book early, the good sites go very fast! The campground is only open Friday-Monday. The camp sites are large and that makes it nice, because sometimes it can get crowded. There is plenty of shade too! I have camped here twice and would go back next time I am in Oahu.
LegendBellows is a military recreation facility on the Windward side of Oahu near the town of Waimanalo. Bellows has a section open to the public and a military area that requires a US Government ID and window stickers. The campsite is one one of the highest rated beaches in the USA Waimanalo Beach. The white sandy beach is a local favorite and must see while on Oahu. You can visit in the day or stay at the campground. The campground is for tent campers for individuals or large groups. You will need to come early on a Friday to get a spot for the weekend. During holidays you can expect large crowds. We like to go here during the week and get a section of the beach all to ourselves. The surfing here is not great since the reef is not along the shoreline. It’s popular for swimming, body surfing, and kite surfing. You can get supplies and food in Waimanalo or Kailua to the north. President Obama was known to play golf here and swim with his family.
Scoutwe have been known to frequent.the base.
GuideIt's amazing go if you can. Especially the military side. Secluded and awesome.
LegendYou need to be active or a veteran of the military to rent the cabins but the other side is set for civilians. Amazing views with climbing nearby at Makapu'u point/lighthouse. This beach is good for relaxing but the beach just the the NW of Makapu'u is great if you're a decent surfer or bodyboarder.
Guidelots Of trails for a variety of levels
RangerGreat cabins on ground, but you'll have to be military to rent. Civilians can tent camp on the opposite side. The sand here is so fine, it will make its way in to your rent, no matter how tight you close it up. Beware the manawar here when it's in season. They line up all along the beach..
Traveler
The beauty here is unbelievable. Just breath taking. A must see!
GuideA beautiful, safe, clean campground, run by the State of Hawaii, that can't be beat.
This campground is nowhere near the beach, but brings you to the interior of the island. From here you can view the Kalalau Valley lookout and look out over Waimea Canyon, known as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." Also you have access to hike the Alakai Swamp, which is one of the wettest places on Earth, or take a couple-mile hike up to the highest point on the island.
This campground offers indoor toilets and showers, a nice restaurant, and a gift shop.
GuideThe 2.5 mile hike down Waimea Canyon to arrive at this site is worth it for the views alone. The campground is rustic. There is one outhouse and a covered picnic area. Our site was directly on the river. We stayed in the river or on the rocks in the river to swim, cook and hang out as it was the only spot free from mosquitoes. The views from the bottom of the canyon were breathtaking. We were the only campers when we went to bed but woke up to 2 men with horses and hunting dogs staying there.
GuideThis wonderful campground is not at all traditional but more of a park (like many campgrounds on Kauai). The market/depot has hot meals, coffee shop, smoothies and more making for a very luxurious stay. The benefit of being atop the mountains is it cools comfortably at night, even in the summer. A lovely place to stay any time.
TravelerDue to the draining of the Lava Lake and constant earthquakes in Volcanoes National Park, this area is closed. At this time it is uncertain that it will open again.
TravelerI love camping at this spot. Namakanipaio has wonderful views the Milky Way, and used to have a great view of the glowing lava lake. It was a short hike to Jagger Museum, that now is being consumed by the caldera. With daily earthquakes in the area, it is no longer safe. you can not even stop in the highway in that area. Hopefully it will open again in the future.
GuideThe arduous hike in and impending brutal hike out make this campground a haven for those willing the make the trek. There’s a compositing toilet and a shelter with a picnic table in case it rains. Lots of trash from irresponsible hunters/campers near the shelter but the camping pads close to the river are beautiful. TONS of bugs that you can’t really feel biting you so bring really good (and environmentally friendly) bug spray. We took baths with bio soap in the river which flows strongly enough for fresh water (steripen that!) to drink but has small pools to sit in to cool off from the hike and wash up for camping. Lots of roosters and quail, hunters seeks wild pigs down I. The canyon. ATVs come through on occasion but this is a very private campground. Good tree coverage as it rains nearly every day in the canyon. Hikes around the area lead to various waterfalls and natural water slides. Don’t leave valuables in your car (we left our car unlocked to avoid broken windows - 8 piles of shattered window glass on the side of the road when we arrived at the trailhead (pull off on the side of the road to park and go there, no true parking lot).
GuideThis is one of the most beautiful and unexpected places to see on the island of Kauai. You can camp either in a tent or there are some cabins to check out as well. This is the place to go on the island if you need to get out of the heat and humidity given that its higher up in elevation. There are countless hikes that bring you to viewpoints of either the Napali Coast or the canyon itself.
LegendThis campsite was probably one of my favorite places to camp. There was so much to do, and some awesome hikes! It was also super cheap to camp, like $12 a night so you couldnt really beat that. The campground was great, clean, and in a great location. I also really liked that each campsite is really well marked, and enough room in between each campsite. Each campsite does have a water spout, which made it nice to fill up our water bottles before we went hiking. There is also a restaurant on site which served great food. It was definitely very hot and muggy, but that is how it was everywhere we stayed. Thats just how Kauai is. There is some really great hikes nearby as well. I would recommend doing Awaawapuhi, Pihea and Nualo. All great hikes with beautiful viewss. There is also a great viewpoint that we saw a lot of people stopping at. It was the Kalalau Valley Lookout. Highly recommend because the views here are amazing. All in all, this was definitely the best place my husband and I stayed at during out honeymoon. Highly recommend.
GuideAwesome access to lots of trails and of course the volcano. Wouldn’t go right now with the eruptions but worth the visit in the future.
Bring extra warm stuff; can get windy and quite chilly at night.
ScoutThis camping site is great! It’s 10 miles inside the volcanos national park. At the end of the drive there is parking for about 4 vehicles and a very clean and nice structure housing a pit toilet with paper. No running water, no fires allowed. Camping stoves ok. There are I believe 10-12 sites some right off the lot some farther out ours was up over a hill so you could not see any other sites or the lot from our location. There was a picnic table in each site. You pay at the gate (we got the year pass) and then $10 a night you put it in the bash box on site and put the receipt at your site if you happen to love for the day. We both tent camped and put up hammocks. You are in the shadow of Laura loa volcano and when we went you could see the glow of the main crater from our site however with the recent activity I am pretty sure the level may be too low now.
We hikes for a half hour towards the crater glow in the night to get to a ridge to look out over the valley. The moon was bright enough you didn’t need flashlights. It’s very windy at night and the temp drops. I had a sleep mat in my hammock and slept in sweats with a blanket and Summer sleeping bag. Our hammocks were swaying in the wind all night.
One of the best sites was the moon setting behind Mauna Loa just before sunrise and then watchingbehr sure from purple to pink to red as the sun came up from behind us and cast colors on her. A few miles farther on the drive you will reach a dead end with a pavilion and an incredible view of the Pacific.
Its close enough to hilo we left our site for the day and went to the hilo parks to swim than did all of the volcano park activities in the early evening.
GuideWiliwili is a site at the end of the kukui trail - down to the bottom of Waimea canyon. This place is well received by hikers as a beautiful place to cool off in the stream. This is also the first site you hit if you dare to venture further into the canyon off this trail. There is a fire pit and plenty of tinder which comes in handy since the second thing you will notice after the stream is the swarms of mosquitoes awaiting your arrival. Bring bug repellent and don’t play it safe with natural remedies, get the stuff you know works. We enjoyed hanging up hammocks here and laying in the streams gazing up at the canyon and stars. Lovely place but I surely regretted the 2.5mile ascent back up the canyon walls with 20lbs on my back. Travel light and you will enjoy this place. visited in June and it was great - no rain.
Horse camping in Hawaii offers a unique way to explore the islands' stunning landscapes while enjoying the companionship of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds that cater to horse enthusiasts, you can experience the beauty of Hawaii from a different perspective.
