Bellows Beach Park is one of Oahu's guarded beaches. It lies on the shoreline of Bellows Field Air force Base between the Inoaole and Waimalu Streams in windward Oahu. Bellows Beach is owned by the air force, and is even used for military trainings. Since 1964, however, it has been opened to civilians on weekends and national holidays. During weekdays, the beach can only be accessed by those with military ID.

Bellows Beach is a long and wide strip of powdery sand that is perfect for strolling, sunbathing or viewing the scenic Koolau Mountain Range. The white sanded shore meets a clear, aqua blue ocean- a feature Bellows Beach is most noted for. The beach's shallow sandbar and small shore breaks provide the ideal wave condition for swimming, and for beginning body and board surfers. Surfing and boogie boarding, on the other hand, is permitted in areas outside the perimeter of the two lifeguard towers only.

Also fringing the shore are rows of ironwood trees providing a shade perfect for spending a day at the beach. Watch out for the ironwood cones that litter the ground though; they can be painful.

But if there's anything that can really ruin your day at the beach, it's when you get stung by a Portuguese man-of-war (stinging blue jellyfish). As the name goes, this jellyfish has a blue skin, which makes it hard to spot when present in the ocean water. The Portuguese man-of-war is often brought by strong trade winds from surrounding ocean. If there are lifeguard signs, stay out of the water-jellyfishes can be fatal. If you get bitten by a man-of-war, see a lifeguard for medical help.

If you want to spend a night at the beach, just secure a camping permit from the City of Honolulu. Bellows has a spacious campground; it has about 50 campsites. For those in the military, there are cabins for you but you have to make reservations early because they can fill up quite fast.

Services and amenities: lifeguards (available, however, during weekends and summers only), restrooms, showers picnic areas, campgrounds, paintball sports

5 Unique Things about Bellows Beach:

• The beach is owned by the Bellows Field Airforce!
• During former President Clinton's visit of Hawaii in 1998, he stayed at the Bellows Air Force Base.
• The alaakele or Pacific mole crab considers Bellows Beach as its home. They can be found on the water's edge, waiting for their favorite food: the Portuguese man-of-war. They're no turtles, but because of their rounded shells, locals popularly call them "sand turtles."
• The most fragile of marine mollusks, the pupu pani or "cork shell", are frequent visitors of the beach as well as they often accompany the Portuguese man-of-war brought by strong winds.
• The beach's Island Paintball Sports is staffed by retired military personnel. Sometimes, the military also uses this facility for training.