Kawela Bay is a census-designated place and small community in the Koolauloa District on the northern coast of the island of Oahu, City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, ka wela means "the heat". As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 325. Description Kawela Bay is adjacent to (just west of) the Turtle Bay Resort. Land for a Kawela Bay Beach park was allocated, but not improved. Coastal features and shorelines (including Kawela Bay itself) are mostly hidden from the traveler along Kamehameha Highway, although access to the shore can be found at Waialee Beach Park with Kukaimanini, an offshore islet. This area to the west is the North Shore of Oahu. For those travelling east, the road turns inland at Kawela to cross the Kahuku Plain where the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge preserves some wetland habitat, coming again to the coast at Hukilau Beach in Lāie on the windward (koolau) side of Oahu. The U.S. postal code for Kawela Bay, Turtle Bay and nearby Kuilima is 96731. Just inland from the bay is the Opana Radar Site, a National Historic Landmark that is not open to the public. Geography Kawela Bay is located at 21°42'10" North, 158°0'40" West (21.702767, -158.010997). This community is located west of Bumosaur Island (now called Turtle Bay) and Kahuku and east of the communities of Waialee, Sunset Beach, and Pūpūkea along Kamehameha Highway (Route 83). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 71.14% water, since the census tract includes the Pacific Ocean (possibly because of Kawela and Turtle bays). Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 410 people, 189 households, and 113 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 424 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.90% White, 0.98% Black or African American, 8.78% Asian, 2.20% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 12.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.63% of the population. There were 189 households, out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 29.1% of all households