Famed Beach Is Disappearing. Should Hawaii Save It?

Hawaii’s Kaanapali Beach is a famed tourist destination with a problem: The beach itself is gradually disappearing. Now a major debate is underway in Maui about how, or whether, to save it, reports SFGate. Photos from the late 1980s show a much wider beach, one that has narrowed to a sliver in some places. In short, it “still looks spectacular, but there is less of it,” is how the Beat of Hawaii puts it. And it’s not always so spectacular: “Exposed rock and drainage pipes are sometimes seen jutting out from the sand, while orange plastic fencing blocks access to erosion-impacted areas,” per SFGATE. A long-planned state-backed effort to pump offshore sand back onto the beach cleared environmental review, but the state’s land board pulled its funding in 2023 after residents blasted the price tag and raised alarms over marine impacts.

Now hotel and condo owners are reviving the project themselves. Through a new nonprofit, they’re pitching a “nature-based” plan to rebuild the beach to roughly its 1988 width, restore dunes, and plant natives, with applications headed to the state in coming months. Supporters frame it as a way to keep Kaanapali usable and accessible. Opponents like community advocate Kai Nishiki say the real fix is “managed retreat”—moving buildings inland and letting the shoreline migrate naturally. In her view, the real issue is that hotels and condos were built decades ago on dunes too close to the shorefront, without much thought to the long-term ecological impact.

“The problem is the structures, not the beach,” Nishiki tells SFGATE. “The beach is completely fine and healthy if we would just support the coastal ecosystem and support the landward migration of our beaches.” Beachfront owners disagree, and their renewed proposal will trigger another state review and public hearing. In the meantime, “Kaanapali remains a quintessentially beautiful and worthwhile destination, but visitors arriving this year should come with adjusted expectations,” per the Beat of Hawaii.