North Shore: Is this too much in one day?

[buffettgirl]

Been following this thread interested in North shore.
I LOVE watching big waves.. Surfers would be awesome.
Are there waves in the summer? I live in NY and my beaches are Fire Island.
I'm wondering if the waves on North shore are bigger than I would see in NY during summer.
Thanks
Kerri

In the summer, the north shore will have plenty of normal sized waves probably what you see at Fire Island, pretty similar to what I was used to on the east coast in Maine / outer banks, etc. There are a lot of days where there are no waves at a place like Waimea Bay. It can be totally flat one day. But the normal sized waves in the summer won't be giant like the winter. You'll see people surfing all the time though.

 

[DisneyBeach2]

Been following this thread interested in North shore.
I LOVE watching big waves.. Surfers would be awesome.
Are there waves in the summer? I live in NY and my beaches are Fire Island.
I'm wondering if the waves on North shore are bigger than I would see in NY during summer.
Thanks
Kerri

The north shore in the summer is pretty flat. But the south shore picks up in the summer. The south won't ever see the size of waves that the north side sees. I was there during the vans triple crown in December a few years ago and the north had 30ft waves. The south is still fun especially for younger kids, and it's great for taking surfing lessons. The windward side is beautiful also. I suggest renting paddle boards, it's great even if it's your first time trying.

 

[alldiz]

The north shore in the summer is pretty flat. But the south shore picks up in the summer. The south won't ever see the size of waves that the north side sees. I was there during the vans triple crown in December a few years ago and the north had 30ft waves. The south is still fun especially for younger kids, and it's great for taking surfing lessons. The windward side is beautiful also. I suggest renting paddle boards, it's great even if it's your first time trying.

Well I guess this gives me a good reason to go back during summertime
Thanks
Kerri

 

[alldiz]

In the summer, the north shore will have plenty of normal sized waves probably what you see at Fire Island, pretty similar to what I was used to on the east coast in Maine / outer banks, etc. There are a lot of days where there are no waves at a place like Waimea Bay. It can be totally flat one day. But the normal sized waves in the summer won't be giant like the winter. You'll see people surfing all the time though.

thanks not sure worth going in summer. Will have to come back for winter one day;-)
Although was thinking of the Waimea bay trail? Is that the one with the waterfall at end. If beach is close that would be great!
Thanks
Kerri

 

[nkereina]

Although was thinking of the Waimea bay trail? Is that the one with the waterfall at end. If beach is close that would be great!

I think you're thinking of Waimea Valley. We paid the $16 admission to check it out. It was a nice hike and beautiful scenery, but kind of a high price tag for it. We didn't swim, but you do have the option to swim in the water with the waterfall which is very pretty. It's very deep and everyone is required to wear a life jacket. I read on another thread that the water is notorious for high bacteria levels, but we didn't see or hear anything about that while we were there. As far as beaches nearby, there are several up and down the road and right outside the entrance to Waimea Valley. We drove from Haleiwa to Waimea Valley, and stopped at the famous turtle beach which is right along the way.

 

[Elizabeth P]

We liked Waimea Valley and thought it was beautiful. The kids (5 and 7) had fun with the bird scavenger hunt. But, it is a high price tag. We probably wouldn't do it again.

 

[mrswillson]

Been following this thread interested in North shore.
I LOVE watching big waves.. Surfers would be awesome.
Are there waves in the summer? I live in NY and my beaches are Fire Island.
I'm wondering if the waves on North shore are bigger than I would see in NY during summer.
Thanks
Kerri

North Shore in summer has some of the larger waves on the island, especially right around the pipeline. "Big wave" season is typically November - March, however you should still see some big ones depending on the surf and weather. (Even if you're unlucky and can't catch larger waves, the North Shore beaches are gorgeous and a treat in-and-of themselves.)

 

[heybets30]

We loved the Dole Plantation. After only stopping for a Dole Whip back in 2005 on our honeymoon then continuing on a tour, we decided in 2015 that we'd hang out there for a bit with kids then 8 & 6. They LOVED the maze. Hubby and I also had fun in the maze - great souvenir - the maze sheets. It truly is spectacular. Traffic there took a lot longer than all our GPS/Nav systems told us it would - the times kept creeping up as we were driving. Lots of local roads, single lane roads, army (? - sorry, not sure if navy/air force, etc.) bases with loads of traffic. Making a left turn out of the Dole Plantation afterwards, seriously took like 5-7 minutes.

The train was super cute, informative. We were there after harvest, so there was nothing to look at in the fields. We were unexpectedly there for about 4-5 hours easily. The gift shop has a LOT of good stuff, and not terribly expensive, compared to what we had seen the previous 10 days. They had a lot of unique stuff I was excited to get - holiday ornaments personalized, a pineapple cookie cutter, Dole pineapple chapstick. Just super fun, kitschy stuff. We probably spent 1/2 hour in the gift shop alone. We got our Dole Whips - no wait. BUT, had we been there 10 minutes later, there were 2 buses of people, it looked like the line would easily take 1/2 hour to get through.

So, Dole Plantation HUGE thumbs up, just be prepared for it to take more time than you think.