Kilauea Point Lighthouse

The Kilauea Point Lighthouse was built in 1913, serving for 62 years before being deactivated by the Coast Guard in 1976 and replaced with an automated beacon. Extensive restoration to the lighthouse was completed in 2013. Today, the lighthouse is a popular tourist attraction renowned as much for the lighthouse as it is for the bird and whale watching.

The lighthouse is located on the northernmost point of Kauai on a peninsula 180 feet above sea level. It is now part of the Kilauea Point Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for seabirds including frigates, boobies, shearwaters and Laysan albatrosses. In winter months, humpback whales can often be seen off the coast.

The lighthouse is a short drive from the town of Kilauea. The scenic overlook is free, and $10 (plus $1 reservation fee) will gain you admission to the lighthouse and refuge area. (Children under 15 are free.) There is also a gift shop/visitor center with additional information about the lighthouse.

Tickets are available up to two months in advance and typically sell out a week ahead. To make reservations visit: www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300018

Kilauea Lighthouse Address
3500 Kilauea Rd
Kilauea, HI 96754
(808) 828-0384

Location at Google Maps

Hours of Operation
Wednesday – Saturday: 10AM – 4PM (closed Sunday – Tuesday)
Closed major Federal holidays

Web address: www.kilaueapoint.org

Kilauea Lighthouse Tours

Kilauea Lighthouse tours offer an interesting insight into the island’s history, the historic era of lighthouses and the people who tended and cared for them.

The tours are informative and enjoyable. Visitors learn about the crafty construction of the lighthouse at a not-so-accessible spot, the 9,000-pound Fresnel lenses that were made in France, the giant bubble of mercury the lenses floated on for rotation (the mercury was removed during the restoration), how the lighthouse saved the first flight to Hawaii from the mainland, the lighthouse in World War 2 (it went dark), the lighthouse keepers and their daily lives, and technological advances that eventually led to the automation of the lighthouse in the mid-1970s.

Barbier, Bernard, and Turenne of Paris, France manufactured the lenses. The 9,000-pound lenses floated on mercury and compressed air and were rotated by a system of pulleys.

Windows were opened and closed to aid in ventilation, and at times, to stoke the fire for the light.

Visitors are allowed a brief look at the top level of the lighthouse.

Kilauea Lighthouse History

In the early 1900’s the U.S. Government determined that a lighthouse was needed on Kauai to aid navigation. Kilauea Point was selected because of the prominent northernmost location on the island and the 180 foot elevation.

The upper portion of the lighthouse has a steel circular walkway with handrails. The metalwork was fabricated in Ohio.

The tower under construction on January 1st, 1913. Construction on the lighthouse began in July 1912 and was dedicated on May 1, 1913.

There were no good roads between Nawiliwili Harbor and Kilauea at the time, so the decision was made to bring in the materials for the lighthouse by sea.