Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
were large plantations of sugarcane and pineapples as well as cattle ranches. All the big
pineapple players - Libby, Dole and Del Monte - had operations here but had ceased all
production by 1990. Given the large local population, relatively few immigrant laborers
were brought to Molokaʻi, one of the reasons the island population includes such a high
proportion (50%) of Native Hawaiians.
Cattle was an important commodity throughout the 20th century. The Molokaʻi Ranch
owns much of the western third of the island, but changing investors coupled with some
unsuccessful dabbles in tourism caused the ranch to shut down in 2008, throwing hun-
dreds out of work.
Tourism plays a minor role in the local economy and, besides small-scale farming, the
main employer now is Monsanto, which keeps a low profile at its experimental farms
growing genetically modified (GM) seeds.
National, State & County Parks
The stunning Kalaupapa Peninsula, within Kalaupapa National Historical Park, and a
tour of the leprosy settlement there are reason enough to visit Molokaʻi. Verdant Palaʻau
State Park has views down to Kalaupapa and a range of attractions, from woodsy hikes to
erotic rock formations.
The county's Papohaku Beach Park, which fronts one of Hawaii's longest and best
beaches, is incentive enough to make the trek out west.
Camping
Molokaʻi's most interesting place to camp, in terms of setting and set-up, is the county's
One Aliʻi Beach Park is not recommended.
County permits (adult/child Monday to Thursday $5/3, Friday to Sunday $8/5) are is-
St, Mitchell Pauole Center, Kaunakakai; 8am-1pm & 2:30am-4pm Mon-Fri)
, either by phone or
in person. Permits are limited to three consecutive days in one park, with a yearly max-
imum of 15 days.
You can enjoy the views from Palaʻau State Park and be ready for an early start on a
visit to Kalaupapa from a peaceful
camping area
near the trailhead. For a true wilder-
ness experience, consider the remote camping at Waikolu Lookout (
Click here
). State
permits (resident/non-resident $12/18 per campsite per night) are obtained from the
Divi-
not be obtained on Molokaʻi.
