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UNITED STATES | Molokai, Hawaii Travel Guide
Thursday, April 25, 2024
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West Molokai
West Molokai
West Molokai, as the name suggests, makes up the western part of the island, It lies largely between the 1,381-foot Pu’u Nana peak and the ocean, on the slopes of the volcanic Maunaloa mountain, comprising primarily dry, arid land, with Maunaloa, its principal town, situated more or less at the center of West Molokai. There are also a few good beaches here.
Maunaloa
Maunaloa is a small, rustic, one-street, former plantation town, originally established in 1923, and notable as the birthplace of the hula. It is situated approximately 17 miles west of Kaunakakai, at the end of the westerly Maunaloa Highway. The town has a general store, one or two eateries, and a handful of little shops, chief among them the Big Wind Kite Factory, which has on display a colorful assortment of handcrafted kites, and which also offers factory tours of its premises as well as kite flying lessons.
Also at Maunaloa, situated some 1,200 feet above the ocean on a 65,000-acre spread owned by the Molokai Ranch Company—the island’s largest landholder—is The Lodge at Molokai Ranch, a 22-room, two-story hotel that offers perhaps the island’s only luxury accommodations.
West Molokai Beaches
Since this is the island’s dry side, the West Molokai coast has Molokai’s best beaches, sunny, and largely remote. Among these are are the white-sand Kepuhi Beach along the northwest end of the island, at the head of Kaluakoi Bay; and just to its south, Papohaku Beach, one of Hawaii’s largest white-sand beaches, some 3 miles long and, at places, nearly a hundred yards wide.
Among others, moving southward along the west coast, are the crescent-shaped, sandy Dixie Maru Beach; Kawakiu Beach, one of Molokai’s most beautiful beaches, situated at the head of Kawakiu Nui Bay; and the white- sand Make Horse Beach, also crescent shaped.
Last updated December 26, 2010
Posted in United States | Molokai
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