North Lanai

Although unsafe for swimming, wild and beautiful Shipwreck Beach remains a favorite stop, take a 4-wheel drive about a half-hour north from Lanai City and you’ll discover Kaiolohia, also known as Shipwreck Beach. This windy, 8-mile stretch of beach has wrecked numerous ships along its shallow, rocky channel. In fact, the hull of a ghostly oil tanker from the 1940s is still beached on Kaiolohia Bay’s coral reef, its rusted hull giving the beach a surreal sense of wonder.

Location: Roughly thirty minutes north of Lanai City. The roads are unmarked so get clear directions before setting off and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.

Beyond the beach, about 200 yards up a trail past the Shipwreck Beach sign are the Kukui Point petroglyphs, marked by reddish-brown boulders. A long time , these primitive Hawaiian carvings/engravings depicting people, animals, canoes and other objects were painstakingly carved onto rocks or old lava flows, but their exact meanings remain a mystery.

Location: Roughly thirty minutes north of Lanai City. The roads are unmarked so get clear directions before setting off and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.

The Kanepuu Preserve, on the west side of Lanai, encompasses 590 acres and is home to 48 species of native plants. The Nature Conservancy protects this forest, which contains the largest remnants of olopua/lama dry land forest in Hawaii. This type of forest once covered much of the dry lowlands of the Hawaiian Islands. This is a rare opportunity to view rare, endemic plant species and trees like the lama, a native ebony, and aiea, once used for canoe building and  Another significant tree is the lama tree, a native ebony tree that was used to build sacred structures. Take an easy to-do 30 minute self-guided walking tour.

Location: About 20 minutes northwest of Lanai City and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.

Keahiakawelo (also known as Garden of the Gods), is an other worldly rock garden at the end of rocky Polihua Road on the northwest side of the island. Its mysterious lunar topography is populated with boulders and rock towers.

According to Hawaiian lore, this windswept landscape is the result of a contest between two kahuna (priests) from Lanai and Molokai. Each was challenged to keep a fire burning on their respective island longer than the other, and the winner's island would be rewarded with great abundance. The Lanai kahuna, Kawelo, used every piece of vegetation in Keahiakawelo to keep his fire burning, which is why this area is so barren today. The rock towers, spires, and formations formed by centuries of erosion are at their most enchanting at dusk. 

Location: Roughly 45 minutes from Lanai City, get clear directions before setting off. Look for the sign that reads "Garden of the Gods" and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.

Polihua Beach is Lanai's longest white-sand beach. This long and wide white-sand beach stretches for more than 1.5 miles along Lanai's northwest coastline. Hawaii’s green sea turtles (honu) have been known to frequent this shoreline and humpback whales can be spotted from here during the winter months. Please note that if you do encounter endangered turtles do not touch or disturb them.

The current here is incredibly strong so swimming is not advised and is extremely discouraged. However, visitors will find this remote area a great place to beachcomb and sunbathe. 

Location: 60 miles North from Lanai City, take Polihua Road beyond Keahiakawelo and about a half-hour past Keahiakawelo (Garden of the Gods) and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is required.

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