There’s a state law in Hawaii which says all the beaches (what we have more of in Hawaii than anything else except aging Democrats) belong to the people. So, all beaches have public access. No single individual or company can own a beach. If you can make it to the beach, you can sit on it. Getting there, of course, is your problem.

That means you’re welcome to walk, sunbathe, surf, snorkel, and do pretty much whatever on any beach in Hawaii. Even those multi-million dollar beach homes don’t own the beach and they can’t keep you off the beach. If you can get there—public access to all beaches is sometimes limited.

For missile lovers, there’s a special beach on Kauai. It’s called Barking Sands. Don’t ask. I’ve talked to as many folks as I care to and no one knows exactly why it’s called Barking Sands. The beach area is located on the extreme northwest side of Kauai—an area known as the Mana Plain. Barking Sands is a long and narrow site bordered by nothing on both sides.

We’re talking remote here, so your cell phone may not connect to anything except mosquitoes and ear wax.

Today, the whole area is run by the military (that branch of the government with bad haircuts, odd uniforms, and a bi-polar attitude about others in that part of the military that isn’t the same part of the military they’re in).

That means you can’t get on the beach despite what the state law says about the beach being “public” access. Blow up one Pentagon building and knock down a couple of skyscrapers and the government tends to get a bit paranoid about who strolls up to the remotest beach in the US; south of Alaska, of course.

Barking Sands is now occupied by the Pacific Missile Range Facility. Back in the 1930s, Kingsford Smith, an Australian charcoal tycoon, made an historic flight carrying charcoal from Australia to Barking Sands via Fiji. He used a Ford tri-motor plane to make the journey as it was the only plane available with a built in hibachi pot.

Local Barking Sands residents cleared the runway, filled in holes, and marked the runway so he’d find it. He must have landed OK because Kingsford charcoal is available at every 7-11 grocery store in the country.

Many years later, Barking Sands was transferred to the Navy and placed under the control of the Cammanding Officer, Naval Air Station, Barbers Point. Then it was transferred within the Navy to the Department to the Commander, Pacific Missile Test Center, at Point Mugu, California, and renamed pacific Missile Range Facility Hawaiian Area.

PACMISRANFAC HAWAREA, for short.

Local folks just call it Barking Sands. But we don’t know why.

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The following is a "verbatim" from the Pacific Missile Range Facility Hawai'ian Area, Barking Sands:

“So it is with the legend of the Barking Sands, at a time ago, an old Hawai'ian fisherman lived in a hut near the beach with this nine dogs. During his fishing trips, he would tie his dogs to stakes in the sand, three to each of the three stakes. He would then get into his canoe and go fishing.
One day while he was at sea and the dogs were tied as usual, he was caught in a very bad storm. For hours he battled the heavy seas until he was finally able to return to land. He was so exhausted that he crawled into his hut, forgetting to untie the dogs.
When he awoke the next morning and went outside, the dogs were nowhere in sight. All he saw were three small mounds of sand where the dogs had been tie. As he stepped on one of the mounds, he heard a low bark. Another step brought another bark; still he couldn't find the dogs. Believing the dogs had been buried in the sand because of the storm, the fisherman began to dig. As each shovelful was removed, more sand took its place. he finally gave up, and every day after when he crossed the beach he would hear the low barking. The dogs were never found and to this day, the sand of Mana have been known as the Barking Sands.”

Oh yeah; and referening the restricted access . . . until all the radical extremists are eradicated from the face of the earth (probably less than one tenth of one percent of the world's populatin) - - restricted access is probably a foregone conclusion.

Sorry =(

My mother taught school in Kekaha around 1950. She visiting barking sands and said that it is called that because of the way the sand behaves if it is dry. I'll quote from one of her letters at the time. "It was very dry the day we were there so the sands did some excellent barking. You cup your hands and push sand together quickly. It makes a low “woof.” If you pull some one down quickly on their seat, you get a louder, long dull sound. It is remarkable. If the sands are wet, they won’t respond."

Just some information.

I lived on Kauai in the late 70s when you could still go onto the Barking Sands base. On the base you could drive to the giant sand dunes, up to 100 feet high. The sand was dry and very course. When you stepped down on the sand, you would hear an audible "woof", thus the name barking sands. We could even make the "woof" sounds when you bounced down the dunes on your butt. You had to go when the sand was hot and dry. Wet sand after rain would not make any sound. Too bad the base and sand dunes are closed to the public after 9-11.

There's a story behind barking sands but my memory of it is very vague. All I know is that they called it that because I guess when it was windy the sand would hit and it would sound like a dog barking. I didn't know we weren't allowed to go there. I went on my last vacation in Hawaii

I lived at Barking Sands in the 70's. Went to Jr High and Freshman year at Wiamea High. Now my son is in the Navy. So cool that we can all go back and stay!!! MAHALO for the info!!!