Turtle Bay, Oahu facts for kids
Turtle Bay is a beautiful bay located on the North Shore of Oahu, an island in Hawaii. It sits between two points called Protection Point and Kuilima Point.
People started calling this area "Turtle Bay" because many green sea turtles used to come here to eat. This name was used even before the big hotel, now known as the Turtle Bay Resort, was finished in 1972. Today, the bay is famous for the Turtle Bay Resort, which has hotels, cottages, and a golf course. There's also a special place nearby called the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge that protects a small pond next to the golf course.
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Exploring Turtle Bay's Nature
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Turtle Bay is one of the last natural areas on Oahu. It's known for its cool rock formations, wild beaches, and being home to amazing animals. You might see threatened green sea turtles or even the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, which lives only in Hawaii! Sometimes, you can even spot whales in the ocean.
The area also has traditional fishing spots, small farms, and important Hawaiian burial grounds. The beach here is sandy, but swimming can be tricky because the ocean floor is rocky. There's a big shelf of limestone that runs almost the whole length of the bay.
Under the water, you can find a very colorful type of limu (which is a kind of algae). It's called Martensia fragilis and it grows on rocks in tide pools. This limu can look light blue, pink, or even orange!
Around the bay, there are about 5 miles (8 km) of beaches and 12 miles (19 km) of trails to explore.
Fun Things to Do at Turtle Bay
You can find an old concrete bunker from World War II at the western tip of the bay. It's a cool historical spot to check out.
The Turtle Bay Resort is the only large hotel on the North Shore. It covers a huge area of about 840 acres (3.4 km²). Besides the main hotel, there are also beach villas and condos. The resort officially took the name "Turtle Bay" in 1983. Before that, the area was called Kuilima. In 2015, a big deal was made to protect nearly 630 acres of open space around the resort, keeping it natural.
Sports and Activities
Turtle Bay is close to the famous Banzai Pipeline surfing spot. It even has its own surfing area called Rainbows Break.
If you like kayaking, Turtle Bay is one of the great places on the North Shore to do it.
The Turtle Bay Resort also has two championship golf courses. They are named after famous golfers, the Arnold Palmer Course and the George Fazio Course.
In October 2015, Turtle Bay hosted a big event called "The Stand Up World Series." This competition brought together the best stand-up paddle racers from around the world to find the champions.
Turtle Bay in Movies and TV
Turtle Bay is a popular place for filming movies and TV shows. This is because it has beautiful, natural scenery, big waves, and it's not too far from Honolulu.
- The beginning of the 1974 movie Death Wish was filmed here.
- The 2008 movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall was set and filmed at the Turtle Bay Resort.
- The ABC TV series Lost used Turtle Bay for many of its outdoor scenes. An old World War II bunker in the area was even used as a set for different parts of the show.
- On March 25, 2012, the TV show MythBusters filmed an episode called "marooned on a desert island" right here at Turtle Bay.
