Destination: The End of the Road

One of my favorite areas in Kauai is the part of the island known as the North Shore. The mountains are out of this world: remarkable geometric cliff formations covered in a thick, lush, green, tropical landscape. The plants and trees surrounding the two-lane highway challenge you to count the hundreds of different shades of green displayed. And the many one-lane bridges allow you to take a moment to stop and view the magnificent landscape around you. I firmly believe that this is one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, and if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be: Paradise.

My husband and I dedicated an entire day to exploring the area to the North and West of Anahola, which according to many tour guides is the beginning of the North Shore. We wanted to explore the area like we explored Maui’s Road to Hana. The journey was just as much a part of the experience as the destination. The destination in our case was Ke’e (Kay-ay) Beach, also known as “the-end-of-the-road.”

Here’s a few photos of our drive that day.

Near the small town of Kilauea, the rain began to pour. Does Kilauea sound familiar? There’s a volcano over on the Big Island with the same name. My husband and I decided to search for a place to eat in order to kill some time and wait out the rain. After searching on the iPad we found the Kilauea Bakery and Pau Hana Pizza and followed the back-roads to this hidden gem. We decided on a calzone and ordered two macadamia nut brownies for dessert. It was delicious! We were surprised at the freshness of the ingredients and couldn’t get enough of our flavorful brownies. This restaurant is definitely a place that we will go again!

The skies began to clear and we were back on the road. There are numerous one lane bridges along Kuhio Highway and the local courtesy is to allow 5-7 cars to pass at a time.

Our next stop was Hanalei town. A picturesque, sleepy, surfing community, nestled between the beautiful Kauai mountains and Hanalei Bay. Highway traffic is usually busy through the small town as tourists are everywhere. Plan ahead and book a surf lesson on Hanalei Bay and after you work up an appetite, grab a bite to eat at one of the many choices in town. Afterwards, be sure to give yourself time to do a little shopping at the Ching Young Village.

Soon after Hanalei you will pass the famous and beautiful Tunnels Beach. We contemplated stopping on this journey, but decided to keep going as we were determined to enjoy the afternoon at the “End of the Road.”

We arrived at Ke’e Beach with plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon. Ke’e (Kay-ay) Beach is known as the “end of the road” because the Kuhio Highway ends at this beach and one cannot travel any further by car. The 12-mile Kalaulau trail which travels along the breathtaking Napali Coast begins at this location.

The weather was perfect, the beach had plenty of room, and the backdrop was striking– we were surrounded by beautiful mountains and the NaPali Coast. My husband and I did not make it to the end of the road on our last visit and after viewing the sunset from this spot, we promised each other that we would never miss coming to this spot again.

Aloha!