Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [353]
INFORMATION
There’s no local daily newspaper, but community notices, including rental-housing ads, are posted on bulletin boards outside the grocery stores.
Bank of Hawaii (565-6426; 460 8th St) Has a 24-hour ATM.
Lana’i Community Hospital (565-6411; 628 7th St) Offers 24-hour emergency medical services.
Lana’i Public Library (565-7920; 555 Fraser Ave; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, noon-8pm Wed) Has internet access.
Lana’i Visitors Bureau (565-7600, 800-947-4774; www.visitlanai.net; 431 7th St; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri) The hotels can provide the same info.
Launderette Lana’i (565-7628; cnr Houston & 7th Sts; per load $4; 6am-8pm) Self-service coin laundry.
Post office (565-6517; 620 Jacaranda St)
SIGHTS
Lana’i City is a charming place for a stroll. Although threatened by ‘progress’ (see the boxed text, Click here), it still retains the mannered order of a planned community. There’s a simple dignity to the march of shops and cafés around central Dole Park. The vaguely alien-looking pine trees provide plenty of shade and you can enjoy the comings and goings of the locals.
The Lana’i Culture & Heritage Center (565-3240; www.lanaichc.org; 111 Lana’i Ave; admission free; 8:30am-3:30pm) is a small treasure. Displays cover the island’s often mysterious history; photos show its transformation into the world’s pineapple supplier.
On Sunday mornings, listen for choir music spilling out of the Hawaiian church.
ACTIVITIES
Golf
The Experience at Koele (565-4653; fees $210-225; 8am-6:30pm) curves around the resort and offers world-class golfing with knockout vistas along the way. The front nine meanders through parklike settings; the signature 17th hole drops 200ft to a tree-shrouded gorge.
Hiking
The Koloiki Ridge Trail, a 5-mile return hike, leads up to one of the most scenic parts of the Munro Trail (Click here). It takes about three hours’ return and offers sweeping views of remote valleys (where taro was once grown), Maui and Moloka’i.
The trail begins at the rear of the Lodge at Koele on the paved path that leads to the golf clubhouse. From there, follow the signposted path uphill past Norfolk Island pines until you reach a hilltop bench with a plaque bearing the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling. Enjoy the view and then continue through the trees until you reach a chain-link fence. Go around the right side of the fence and continue up the hillside toward the power lines. At the top of the pass, follow the trail down through a thicket of guava trees until you reach an abandoned dirt service road, which you’ll turn left on. You’ll soon intersect with the Munro Trail; turn right on it and after a few minutes you’ll pass Kukui Gulch, named for the candlenut trees that grow there. Continue along the trail until you reach a thicket of tall sisal plants; about 50yd after that bear right to reach Koloiki Ridge, where you’ll be rewarded with panoramas.
Horseback Riding
If you prefer to see Lana’i from a saddle, the Stables at Koele (565-7300; rides $60-300; 7am-5pm) offers everything: from a 1½-hour trail ride that takes in sweeping views of Maui, to a four-hour private ride catered to your interest.
FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Lana’i’s main bash, the Pineapple Festival (www.visitlanai.net), is held on or near July 4 to celebrate the island’s pineapple past with games and live music at Dole Park (any pineapple is imported!).
SLEEPING
Most people stay at the resorts or the hotel but there are a growing number of rental houses and B&Bs right in town and an easy walk to restaurants. There are many choices at www.vrbo.com.
Midrange
Hale Moe (565-9520; www.staylanai.com; 502 Akolu Pl; r incl breakfast $80-100) Commodious rooms and an ocean-view lanai are just part of the appeal at this contemporary home on the south side of town. You can rent the entire three-bedroom suburban-style house, which sleeps up to eight, for $300.
Dreams Come True (565-6961, 800-566-6961; www.dreamscometruelanai.com; 1168 Lana