Kauai West Shore - Waimea

Island of Kauai

What to See - Introduction

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As you wind through Highway 50 (Kaumuali`i Hwy) heading west toward a glorious sunset over Waimea Canyon and Polihale State Park, you’ll drive through Port Allen, now the island’s second major port of call and the historic towns of Ele`ele, Hanapepe, and Waimea. You’ll also pass the Pacific Missile Range Facility and Waimea Canyon, before the road ends in Mana, near Polihale State Park.

Napali Coast (Virtual Tour)

The Napali Coast is 22 miles of scenic coastline with 3,000-foot cliffs qualifying it as Hawaii's most remote wilderness accessible only by air, sea or foot. Getting to the coastline by foot requires an 11-mile overnight hike recommended for experienced hikers only. Less experienced hikers can try the two-mile hike to Hanakapiai Beach, a scenic hike. The beach is not recommended for swimming.

Kauai

Ele`ele is so small – blink and you might miss it. It’s mostly residential, so there’s not too much to see. You will notice the Ele`ele Shopping Center. It’s a small strip mall with a few restaurants and grocery store. Turn at the shopping center and the road will take you to Port Allen.

Port Allen is the second major port on the island. You’ll see the occasional cruise ship, Coast Guard boats, and there is a shopping center that’s geared toward tourists with a few pleasant surprises. This is where quite a number of boat tours originate and there’s an airport with a couple of places to fly as well.

Just past the Ele`ele Shopping Center you’ll see a sign on the right that says “Biggest Little Town on Kaua`i.” This sign is referring to the historic town of Hanapepe. Follow the road bearing right onto Hanapepe Road and you’ll suddenly feel as if you’ve been transported into a small western town. The old buildings built by Asian immigrants for the most part are intact. Hanapepe means crushed bay. It’s said that the town earned its name from the landslides in the valley or from the cliffs surrounding the bay area.

Early on, the native Hawaiians settle in Hanapepe Valley and grew taro, banana, sugar cane, and sweet potato. The Hawaiians created ditches to provide water to the agricultural areas. Captain Cook arrived inWaimea in 1778, which had an impact on nearby Hanapepe. By this time, the Hawaiians had already started to cultivate salt. They then started to trade salt with the sailors. This was the earliest form of business for Hanapepe.

Kaua`i also had a flourishing sugar industry, which brought with it thousands of laborers from China, Japan and Korea, among many other places. The Hanapepe that remains today really began when these immigrants fulfilled their contracts with the plantations and settled there to open their own small businesses or become taro farmers.

Hanapepe was not immune to the arrival of the missionaries. They established the Hanapepe First United Church (now Hanapepe Hawaiian Congregational Church) in 1890 as a mission station. By the turn of the 20th century, there were almost a dozen churches of numerous denominations in town. Today Hanapepe’s churches and temples include: Church of the Nazarene, Hanapepe Hawaiian Congregational Church, Hanapepe Hongwanji Mission, Hanapepe United Church of Christ, Kaua`i Soto Zen Temple Zenshuji, and Missionary Baptist Church.

By the early 1900s, the area was primarily populated by second- or third-generation immigrants and eventually became Kaua`i’s commerce center. Hanapepe boasted more than 60 stores, movie theaters, roller-skating rinks, Kaua`i’s first airstrip and Port Allen, the island’s second-largest harbor. To support this growing area, schools, clinics, pool halls, bars,
restaurants, bowling alleys, hotels and homes were also built. In the 1930s through World War II, Hanapepe was a happening military town. The Hanapepe airfield area was a source of soldiers who came to town for rest and relaxation. AUSO club was built, as were pool halls, bars, restaurants and bowling alleys.

The business hub of Kaua`i started to shift to Lihu`e in the late 1930s and the hustle and bustle of the town started to slow considerably. Over the years, it’s kept a quaint, smalltown charm. Recently, with the influx of artists and galleries in the area, there has been a slight resurgence in activity, as evidenced by the Hanapepe Friday Art Night, which happens every Friday night.

Going farther down the road, from Hanapepe, you’ll pass through a number of sugar towns before you make it to Waimea. Kauakami is a tiny town where plantation life is still a reality. You can see a few homes where the sugar plantation workers live. You’ll know you’re in Kauakami when you go past a small plaza with a post office, bakery and the Ni`ihau Helicopter office.

Past Kauakami, you’ll be treated to another historic town – Waimea. This is where the westernization of the islands began when Captain Cook landed here in 1778. Even though Captain Cook was killed in 1779 off of Kealakekua on the Big Island, his journals, which included maps, opened the doors for other westerners such as fur traders and whalers, who sought to anchor in Waimea. It was used as a ship landing until Nawiliwili and Port Allen harbors were built. Today, Waimea is a favorite destination for those who truly want to get away from it all. It’s quiet. It’s not geared toward tourists. You won’t see franchises, strip malls or people constantly trying to sell you something. It’s a place to relax, unwind and enjoy Kaua`i’s natural beauty in nearby Waimea Canyon, Koke`e State Park and Polihale State
Park.

The town was recently placed on the 2006 list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Just past Waimea is the planned plantation town of Kekaha. This once-thriving town was built by and depended on the Kekaha Sugar Company, which closed in 2000. Although not the vibrant community it once was, it still is pretty active thanks to the the Pacific Missile Range Facility and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Syngenta and Monsanto. These three companies produce seed crops such as soybeans and hybrid corn for corn oil, corn syrup, cornstarch and animal feed. You’ll be able to turn off the road and make the trek up to Waimea Canyon and Koke`e Park.

The Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), which is run by the US Navy, is the only range in the world where submarines, surface ships, aircraft and space vehicles can operate and be tracked simultaneously. There are over 1,100 square miles of instrumented underwater range and 42,000 square miles of controlled airspace.

PMRF also played a vital role in NASA’s Pathfinder missions. The Pathfinder is a solar-powered aircraft that is controlled remotely. The program originated in the early 1980s in California. In 1997, NASA opted to move the Pathfinder’s operations to PMRF to take advantage of Kaua`i’s location relative to the sun. In 1998, Pathfinder set a new altitude record of 80,201 feet for a solar-powered aircraft.

Military personnel visit Kaua`i every summer for war games at the facility. You might even see missile launches, either from Polihale State Park or from the highway. PMRF does maintain a few beaches on their base such as Major’s Bay and Barking Sands, which are further described in the beaches section of this chapter. However, be aware that access to PMRF has been restricted solely to military personnel since September 11, 2001. If you want to get on the base and you’re a resident, you’ll have to go through an extensive background check. If you’re a visitor, it would be virtually impossible to do so. But these things do change pretty frequently. You can call 808-335-4229 for information regarding visitor access and offshore boating.

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