On Kuhio Highway at Aku Road, on the left when traveling east on Kuhio Highway.
This 1926 Hanalei School classroom building was designed by architect John Waiamau. Scheduled for demolition in 1987, it was moved to the present site and adapted to a new retail use in 1989. The restored building is on the National Register of . . . — — Map (db m27062) HM
Near Kuhio Highway (State Highway 560) at Mahimahi Road.
The Waioli Mission Hall was established by American Christian missionaries in 1834. A pole and thatch meeting house was constructed by Hawaiians on this site, in anticipation of the arrivals of the missionaries. The first meeting house was destroyed . . . — — Map (db m9804) HM
On Nalu Road, 0.4 miles east of Leho Drive when traveling north.
Houola (dew of life) is the name passed down from ancient times for this place at the mouth of the Wailua River. Historical accounts suggest a pu'uhonua (place of refuge) was located here where one could escape punishment and find safety . . . — — Map (db m65754) HM
Near Hawaii Route 580, 1.7 miles west of Hawaii Route 56, on the left when traveling west.
The mountain ridges of Maunakapu and Nounou divided the Wailua ahupua'a into two sections. Wailua Kai, traditionally referred to as, "Wailuanuiaho'ano," encompasses about 2800 acres of land seaward. Wailua Uka is comprised of more than 17,455 acres. . . . — — Map (db m65795) HM
On Route 580, 1.4 miles west of Hawaii Route 56, on the left when traveling west.
Many generations ago, every stone was brought by hand up to this bluff from the rivers below to build this heiau (temple). A heiau was often remodeled by a new ruling ali'i (chief) and his kahuna (priest).
Within . . . — — Map (db m65809) HM
On Kuhio Highway at Kauwila Street, on the right when traveling south on Kuhio Highway.
Roxy Square stands on the lot where the largest movie theater in the islands was built by W.A. and Agnes Scharsch Fernandez in 1939. Designed by the well-known Honolulu architect C.W. Dickey, it was modeled after the famous Roxy Theater in New York . . . — — Map (db m40423) HM
On State Highway 56, on the right when traveling north.
The 15-foot cast concrete lantern was constructed in 1915 by Kaua‘i’s first generation Japanese immigrants. As a tribute to their homeland, the lantern commemorates the 1912 coronation of Emperor Taisho. An inscription reads: “Great Japan . . . — — Map (db m9786) HM
Near Hawaii Route 580, 1.7 miles west of Hawaii Route 56, on the left when traveling west.
Steeped in Hawaiian oral traditions, Wai'ale'ale mountain represents the piko or navel of Kaua'i. Its peak, Kawaikini is the highest point on the island at 5,243 feet. Reputed as one of the world's wettest spots, it average 400 to 600 inches of . . . — — Map (db m65794) HM
Near Kilauea Road, 1.8 miles north of Hawaii Route 56.
May the glimmer of both this historic lighthouse, guiding ships to safe harbor, and the legacy of Senator Daniel K. Inouye, illuminating the voices of Hawaii citizens, always continue to serve as beacons of hope.
'Ike vision, Lawelawe . . . — — Map (db m65776) HM
On Waikomo Road south of Koloa Road, on the right when traveling south.
Buddhist temples provided Japanese immigrants a place to worship, study their language, learn martial arts and participate in social events. This Jodo Mission used a specialist in temple architecture from Japan to build the large temple’s interior. . . . — — Map (db m13007) HM
On Poipu Road (Hawaii Route 520) south of Koloa Road (Hawaii Route 530), on the left when traveling south.
Kōloa Missionary Church sanctuary is part of a homestead once owned by Dr. James W. Smith, a medical missionary. In 1842, he began a practice of over 40 years, later becoming an ordained minister at The Church at Kōloa. His grandson, Dr. . . . — — Map (db m13023) HM
On Maluhia Road (Hawaii Route 520) at Koloa Road (Hawaii Route 530), on the right when traveling south on Maluhia Road.
The Beginning. Near this site, on September 12, 1835, William Hooper began clearing 12 acres of land to plant sugar cane. The land was part of 980 acres leased by Hooper’s employer, Ladd & Co. of Honolulu. The land was leased from King . . . — — Map (db m18760) HM
On Koloa Road (Hawaii Route 530) west of Maluhia Road (Hawaii Route 520), on the right when traveling south.
Built at the turn of the 20th century, The Yamamoto Building functioned at various times as a plantation camp store and general store with service station. Behind it, the Kōloa Hotel offered rooms to traveling salesmen and actors. The o-furo, . . . — — Map (db m13010) HM
On Lawai Road south of the traffic circle on Poipu Road (Hawaii Route 520), on the left when traveling west.
Spouting Horn Park was called puhi, or blowhole, by early Hawaiians. Legends tell of a huge mo‘o, or lizard, caught in this puhi, which was formed when waves eroded softer, underlying rocks and wore through the harder top rock. Water rushing into . . . — — Map (db m12764) HM
On Hoonani Road east of Lawai Road, on the right when traveling east.
In the mid 1800s, Kōloa Landing was the third largest whaling port in all of Hawai‘i and the only port of entry for foreign goods. The sugar industry increased its use until 1912, when better facilities became available. Up to 60 ships a year . . . — — Map (db m12787) HM
On Poipu Road east of the Poipu Road traffic circle, on the left when traveling east.
Lava rock walls near Hapa Road signify Hawaiian habitation ca. 1200 A.D., while the road dates to the late 1880s. Nearby tracks once held trains hauling cane to Kōloa Plantation for milling. Hapa Road served as a supply and emergency evacuation . . . — — Map (db m12866) HM
Near Pe‘e Road south of Poipu Road, on the left when traveling south.
Stone and coral tools found a Keoneloa Bay , or long sand, helped arcaeologists determine that early Hawaiians used the area between 200 and 600 A.D. as a temporary fishing camp. Later Hawaiians left remnants of heiau, or temples, and ahu, or . . . — — Map (db m12806) HM
Near Poipu Road east of the Poipu Road traffic circle, on the right when traveling east.
The walled heiau (temple) that once stood here was 130 feet by 90 feet; dedicated to Kāne, a major god of Hawai‘i, Hulokoki, a bird god, Kū-hai-moana and Ka-moho-ali‘i, two shark gods. Three hala-lihilihi-‘ula trees situated on the outside . . . — — Map (db m12803) HM
Near Ainako Street south of Poipu Road, on the right when traveling south.
The eastern sand dunes of Makawehi, calm face, and Pā‘ā, hard rock, yield fossilized plant roots, bird bones, crab claws and other treasures. Prior to extensive wave erosion, this prominent limestone ridge extended across Keoneloa Bay. . . . — — Map (db m12859) HM
Near Hoonani Road east of Kapilli Road, on the left when traveling east.
What began as a hobby garden by the Kōloa Plantation manager’s wife became celebrated as one of the world’s best of its kind. Numerous cactus planted in the 1930s thrived in the arid, rocky soil here. Many escaped to surrounding areas to become . . . — — Map (db m12797) HM
On Hoone Road at Ho‘owilli Road, on the left when traveling east on Hoone Road.
Abundant, easy-to-view marine life in calm waters is a major attraction at Po‘ipū Beach. The endangered native Hawaiian Monk seal and threatened Green sea turtle are frequent visitors. From November through May, the endangered Humpback whale . . . — — Map (db m12805) HM
On Lawai Road south of the traffic circle on Poipu Road (Hawaii Route 520), on the right when traveling west.
Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole was born in a grass hut near this spot to Princess Kinoike Kekaulike and High Chief David Kahalepouli Pi‘ikoi. He became a delagate to U.S. Congress after Hawai‘i became a Territory in 1900, serving for 19 . . . — — Map (db m12778) HM
On Ala Kinolike Highway north of Poipu Road, on the right when traveling north.
More than 5 million years ago, a hotspot in the earth spewed lava upward to form the volcanic mountain island of Kaua‘i. Nearby Hā‘upu Ridge and Mountain contain some of the oldest geologic formations. Look for the youngest volcanic cones, such . . . — — Map (db m12864) HM
Near Pe‘e Road south of Poipu Road, on the left when traveling south.
The bay before you—named Keoneloa (or ‘the long sand’)—is the site of one of the oldest known Hawaiian occupation on Kaua‘i, a temporary fishing camp, dating to A.D. 220–660.
The Hawaiians divided each island into . . . — — Map (db m12807) HM
Near Ka Haka Road, 2.2 miles north of Hawaii Route 56.
You are now standing at what was – for a few months in 1816 and 1817 – the site of a Russian fort named for the Emperor Alexander. How a fort came to be built here, what became of it, and how this part of Kaua'i later got the name . . . — — Map (db m65811) HM
In 1942, Albert S. Morgan, Sr. a native Hawaiian, married Helen Farias and raised five children. The family lived in the community of Wailua where Mr. Morgan served a term as president of the Wailua House Lots Community Association.
As the . . . — — Map (db m40453) HM
On Hawaii Route 50 at Panako Road, on the right when traveling west on State Route 50.
In January, 1778, two ships under the command of British navigator Captain James Cook sighted the northwest coast of O'ahu. The next day they cruised from Maha'ulepu to Waimea Bay on Kaua'i where they set anchor. Acquainted with the Tahitian . . . — — Map (db m65777) HM
On Menehune Road north of Hawaii Highway 50, on the left when traveling north.
The row of hewn stone along the inner side of the road is a remnant of one wall of a water-course which is said to have been made by the MENEHUNES (Hawaiian dwarves or Brownies)
The stones were brought from Mokihana
There is an old . . . — — Map (db m27646) HM
On Hawaii Route 50 at Waimea River, on the left when traveling west on State Route 50.
Fort History
Fort Elizabeth was one of three Russian Forts partially built between 1815 and 1817 on the island of Kauai. Fort Alexander and Fort Barclay were built near the mouths of the Hanalei River on the north shore of Kauai while Fort . . . — — Map (db m65778) HM