Kee Beach has become the first state park on Kauai to have lifeguards, county officials announced yesterday.

Kee, which sits at the end of the road on Kauai’s North Shore, was visited by more than 700,000 people last year, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

It is also one of the deadliest, with about 10 drownings since 1970, according to Patrick Durkin, a former lifeguard and water safety expert.

As the trail head to the Kalalau Trail sits just off the sand, Kee Beach also serves as the gateway to the Na Pali Coast, so lifeguards will be able to get trail conditions from hikers and better help people in trouble along the remote stretch of coast.

Hanakapiai Beach, the deadliest beach on the Garden Isle with more than 30 drownings since 1970, has been accessible only by land via a 2-mile hike along the trail.

But a Jet Ski at Kee, with two trained lifeguards, “can get there within 60 seconds,” Durkin said.

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(Source: Tom Finnegan, Honolulu Star-Bulletin)