Kilauea Point
National Wildlife Refuge

Life and Light at Kilauea Lighthouse

Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is home to nesting seabirds and a lighthouse.

A world-famous lighthouse and bird sanctuary sits on the northern tip of Kauai at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The lighthouse, home to the world’s largest clamshell lens, perches on a peninsula 200 feet above the sea.

Although a fully automated electronic beacon has replaced the Fresnel lens, the 1913 lighthouse still stands intact. Aviation history credits the lighthouse with saving the first trans-Pacific flight from turning into a disaster. It alerted Army pilots, who had overshot Oahu, to correct their path.

Today, the structure marks the home of one of the most visited wildlife refuges in the U.S. Although the lighthouse is not open to the public, the grounds are, and a self-guided path to the point offers interpretive information. Volunteers point out various seabirds.

The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary also has large interpretive signs on Hawaii’s marine nammals and sea turtles.

The refuge is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. To get there, turn off Highway 53 near mile marker 23; take Kolo Road to Kilauea Road. Adults $2; kids 16 and under free, (808)828-1413.

TAKE A HIKE
A two-hour guided Crater Hill Hike is offered daily. Orientation is at 10:15 a.m.; hike begins 10:30 a.m. Reservations required, (808)828-0168.

SCENIC SIDE TRIP
South of Kilauea on Highway 53 are two Kilihiwai Road signs; the road is a former loop that no longer connects. Take either for a short, pretty drive. The northern one leads to tiny Kilihiwai Bay, the second to Anini Beach.