Between Kekaha Beach Park and Polihale State Park, the beach stretches for roughly 15 miles. But there is only limited public access near the US Navy base at Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Navy barred access except to Kaua'i residents without felony convictions or to people with military connections.
The Navy is Kaua'i's largest employer and it controversially occupies and prohibits access to indigenous Hawaiian territory. Any move by the military to occupy more land generates fervent protest.
Barking Sands earned its nickname because on days both sunny and windy (with the planets lined up just right) the moving sands make sounds akin to those of barking dogs. (Please send us a recording if you hear them.) The missile-range facility at Barking Sands provides the aboveground link to a sophisticated sonar network that tracks more than 1000 sq miles of the Pacific. Established during WWII, it's been developed into the world's largest underwater listening device.
