Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Managed by Hawaiian elders as well as the Nature Conservancy, Moʻomomi is not
lushly beautiful, but windswept, lonely and wild. It's a classic Molokaʻi sight; alluring
and worth the effort to visit. Follow Farrington Ave west, past the intersection with Hwy
480, until the paved road ends. If you are in a regular car and it has been raining, this is
where your journey will end as there is often a richly red mud swamp here.
When passable, it's 2.2 miles further along a dirt road that's in some areas quite
smooth and in others it's deeply rutted. In places, you may have to skirt the edge of the
road and straddle a small gully. It's ordinarily sort of passable in a standard car, although
the higher the vehicle the better; it's definitely best to have a 4WD. If you get stuck in a
car, you may gift your rental company with a windfall in fees and fines.
Look for the picnic pavilion that announces you've found Moʻomomi Bay, with a little
sandy beach used at times by elders teaching the young traditional fishing techniques.
The rocky eastern point, which protects the bay, provides a fishing perch and further
along the bluffs a sacred ceremony might be underway. There are toilets but no drinking
water.
There is a broad, white-sand beach (often mistakenly called Moʻomomi) at
Kawaʻaloa
Bay
, a 20-minute walk further west. The wind, which picks up steadily each afternoon,
blows the dune sand into interesting ripples and waves. Like a voyeur, you're here just to
look around. Swimming is dangerous.
The high hills running inland are actually massive sand dunes - part of a mile-long
stretch of dunes that back this part of coast. The coastal cliffs, which have been sculp-
tured into jagged abstract designs by wind and water, are made of sand that has petrified
due to Moʻomomi's dry conditions.
Because of the fragile ecology of the dunes, visitors should stay along the beach and
on trails only.
Tours
Nature Conservancy
HIKING
servancy leads excellent monthly guided hikes of Moʻomomi. Transportation is provided
to and from the preserve. Reservations are required and spots fill up far in advance, so
get in early.
