North Shore ATV Ride: Beachfront Trails, Farm Animals and a Native Plant to Put in the Ground

Every North Shore day needs a land stop between the water and the shave ice, and this is the one we send families to: an 80-acre beachfront farm in Waialua where you drive your own four-wheeler along the coast, through a restored native dune and around a proper track, after feeding the animals and planting something that will still be there next time you come.

This page covers the ride, who can drive, what it costs, and how to fit it into a North Shore day.

Why this made our list

Oʻahu has a lot of UTV tours and exactly one place where you drive your own ATV with handlebars. That alone would put it on the list. What keeps it there is everything around the ride. The farm sits on the only fully restored Hawaiian shoreline on the island, with 21 native species holding the dunes together, and every guest plants one as part of the state’s Mālama Hawaiʻi program. There are farm animals to meet and feed before you ride, which turns a thrill ride into a family morning. And it holds a 4.9-star rating across more than 7,000 reviews, the biggest review base of anything on the North Shore.

The location helps too. Waialua is ten minutes west of Haleʻiwa, so the ride slots into a North Shore day between the shark boat in the morning and Waimea Bay in the afternoon.

How it compares

The windward ranches run UTV tours through movie-famous valleys, and they are spectacular drives with a steering wheel and a guide at the front; they are also two to three times the price and a different side of the island. The only other way to get an ATV under you on Oʻahu is this farm. For a North Shore day, especially with kids, it is the land stop.

What the ATV ride is like

One hour. Here is how it goes.

1. Check in at the farm. Off Waialua Beach Road, a quiet lane between the old sugar town and the sea. Waivers, helmets, closed-toe shoes checked.
2. Meet the animals. Goats, pigs, chickens and more at the fence, with feed for the kids.
3. Plant your plant. Pick a native seedling from the nursery, walk it to the dune, and put it in the ground with the guide explaining what it does.
4. ATV lesson and practice loop. Automatic four-wheelers, a quick lesson, a few laps on the track to get the feel.
5. The coastal trail. Out along the shoreline with the ocean beside you, through the restored dune and the organic farm plots, with stops for photos. On a winter day the North Shore surf is breaking right there.
6. The track. Berms, dips and turns on the farm’s signature course, as fast or as slow as you like.
7. Back to the barn. Dusty, grinning, ten minutes from Haleʻiwa and the garlic shrimp.

Prices and what you get

From $75 per person plus tax and booking fees for the one-hour experience: your own ATV and helmet, a guide, about 45 minutes of riding, the animal visit and the native plant. It is one of the cheapest guided adventures on Oʻahu and the only one that leaves something behind.

Who it’s for (and who should skip it)

Families with kids 8 and up, first-time riders, anyone who wants a North Shore activity that does not involve the ocean. Teenagers in particular love having their own machine.

Skip it if you are pregnant or have a back or neck injury, or if you need the long, wild-valley UTV drive; that is a windward-side trip.

Where to check in and how to get there

67-221 Waialua Beach Road, Waialua, on the North Shore. From Waikiki take the H-1 west to the H-2 north, then either Kamehameha Highway through Haleʻiwa and west on Waialua Beach Road, or Kaukonahua Road straight into Waialua. About an hour with no traffic, 75 to 90 minutes later in the morning. Parking at the farm is free. If you are coming from the shark boat at Haleʻiwa Harbor, it is ten minutes.

Best time to go

Time of day. Morning before the heat, or late afternoon for the light on the water. Mid-day in summer is hot and dusty.

Time of year. It runs every day, rain or shine. Winter days put the big North Shore surf right beside the coastal trail, which is worth seeing from an ATV.

Local tips before you book

• Closed-toe shoes. No exceptions; bring sneakers in the car even if you are coming from the beach.
• Bandana for dust. Dry summer days on the track kick it up.
• Book the slot after the sharks. Shark snorkel at 8, ATV at 11, lunch in Haleʻiwa at 12:30.
• Let the kids plant. The native plant is the part they remember, and the farm sends you a photo if you ask.
• Finish at Waimea Bay. Swim in summer, watch the surf in winter, shave ice at Matsumoto’s on the way home. For the rest of the week, see our things to do in Waikiki guide.

The verdict

The best land stop on a North Shore day and the only ATV ride on Oʻahu: your own four-wheeler on the coast, animals for the kids, a plant in the dune, one hour, from $75. Book it right after the shark boat.