Hokio Beach is a long, grey-sand strand on the Tasman coast, ten kilometres west of Levin, where the Hokio Stream drains Lake Horowhenua into the sea. It is a working coast rather than a holiday one — driftwood, surfcasting rods, occasional four-wheel-drives running for whitebait — and the surf is unpredictable, with strong rips and no patrols. Swim with care or not at all.
The road-end carpark has a small picnic area; from there you can walk south along the empty shoreline for as long as you like before turning back. At sunset, with the Tararuas blue-black behind and the Tasman lit by long western light, it is one of the better atmospheric beaches on this stretch of coast.