Wailuā Homesteads, Hawaii

The ʻŌpaekaʻa Road Bridge is a steel truss bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places located along ʻŌpaekaʻa Road in the Wailua Homesteads neighborhood of Kapaʻa, on the island of Kauaʻi, in the state of Hawaii, United States. The one-lane bridge spans ʻŌpaekaʻa Stream. With steel beams forged in 1890 by the Alexander Findlay & Company in Motherwell, Scotland, this is touted as possibly the only British-built bridge located in the United States.

The Puʻuʻōpae Bridge (also known as Kalama Stream Bridge and Kapaʻa Homesteads Bridge #2) is a one-lane, single-span, concrete-encased steel bridge across Kalama Stream located along Puʻuʻōpae Road between Kalama and Kīpapa Roads in the Wailua Homesteads area near Kapaʻa in Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, United States. Originally built in 1915, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.The design of the bridge is of little significance. Its endposts appear to have come from materials dismantled from the old Wailua River Bridge in 1919, and its original trusses were removed during repair work in 1958. It is currently in poor condition and may have to be replaced, rather than restored, according to Kauaʻi County Engineer Donald Fujimoto. It is listed on the Hawaii Department of Transportation's current statewide transportation improvement schedule. Much more significant is its role in the socioeconomic history of the island. It was built to facilitate access to the Kapaʻa uplands, which had been opened to homesteaders two years earlier. When Hawaiʻi became a United States Territory in 1900, most of its land was held in very few hands, primarily those of large-scale sugar planters and the government itself. Despite being dominated by the sugar industry, the territorial government sought to encourage the growth of family farms by opening up large tracts of its own land to homesteaders. The best coastal plains were already devoted to sugarcane plantations, so homestead lands on Kauaʻi were located in the uplands of Kapaʻa on the east side of the island and Kalāheo on the southeast side.The Puʻuʻōpae Bridge was designed to serve tracts of land along Olohena and Waipouli Roads known as Kapaʻa Homesteads 2nd Series, which included 81 lots ranging from roughly 20 to 40 acres, on which 90 homesteaders harvested 31,500 tons of sugarcane by 1917, despite poor roads, limited water, and dependence on the large plantations for milling and marketing their sugar. Although most of the homestead plots have subsequently been rezoned as residential, the nearly 400 acres surrounding this bridge remain the only significant expanse of agricultural land in the region. "The history of the Kapa'a Homesteads ... is not the product of a single Great Man who shaped the area but the collective story of a group of settlers who struggled to make a life as independent farmers for themselves and their families. The names of the 1913 Kapa'a Homesteads lottery winners hints at a predominance of the Hawaiian and Caucasian settlers who bought into the homesteading idea, but people from other backgrounds were represented as well: Lino, Contrades, Kauai, Hanohano, Kaui, Kainoa, Kelekoma, Booge, French, Miyashi, Souza, Reis, Wilson, Tracy, Johonnot, Silva, Konda, Nasahiga, Hepa, Reichelt, Soto, Cummings, Louis, Achuck, Cheatham, Livesey, Israel, Cook, Jensen, Ferreira, Victorino, Barreta, Rapoza, Aroong, Ohai, Waiwaiole, Mailehuna, Rodrigues, Amalu, Kaiu, Ventura, Kikaahu."

Wailua Falls is a waterfall on the island of Kauai, part of the US state of Hawaii. The 173 foot (52.7 m) falls are located on the South Fork Wailua River near Lihue. The waterfall is prominently featured on the opening credits of the television series Fantasy Island. There are paths to the bottom of the falls, but it can be muddy and slippery. The "trail" further from the parking lot is less steep than the closer one. In ancient times, Hawaiian men would jump from the top of the falls to prove their manhood. Some people still leap off the top of the falls, though it is dangerous and illegal. In 2016, a man jumped from the falls and was knocked unconscious but narrowly avoided death when someone swam out into the pool to save him. The pool is great for swimming, but there are swift currents close to the waterfall. There is another waterfall nearby named 'Opaeka'a Falls.

ʻŌpaekaʻa Falls is a waterfall located on the ʻŌpaekaʻa Stream in Wailua River State Park on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is a 151-foot (46 m) waterfall that flows over basalt from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Below the ridge down into the ravine through which the water falls can be seen the vertical dikes of basalt that cut through the horizontal Koloa lava flows. The name "ʻŌpaekaʻa" means rolling shrimp, "ʻopae" being Hawaiian for "shrimp," and "kaʻa" for "rolling". The name dates back to days when the native freshwater shrimp Atyoida bisulcata were plentiful in the stream and were seen rolling and tumbling down the falls and into the churning waters at the fall's base.Visually, this is a spectacular waterfall and is one of the island's few waterfalls that can be seen from the road. It flows year round and therefore is not seasonal. Most of the time it falls in a double cascade but the two sides may become one after a heavy rain. There is a highway overlook which provides a panoramic view of the 40-foot (12 m) wide falls and the valley below. The best time of day to see the falls is in full sunlight when the water sparkles the most. If the day is cloudy the view is less spectacular.

Sleeping Giant, also known as Nounou Mountain, is a mountain ridge located west of the towns Wailua and Kapaʻa in the Nounou Forest Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi. The formation received its common English name both from its resemblance to a reclining human figure, and from a Native Hawaiian legend about a giant who, after great labor or overeating, lay to rest and is yet to awaken. Today Sleeping Giant is a major landmark for tourists visiting Kauai. Hiking trails lead to the highest point of the ridge, or what resembles a forehead. It is located at 22°3′39″N 159°21′19″W.

Wailua (literally, "two waters" in Hawaiian) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauaʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 2,359 at the 2020 census, up from 2,083 at the 2000 census.

Coco Palms Resort was a resort hotel in Wailuā, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, that was noted for its Hollywood connections, Hawaiian-themed weddings, torch lighting ceremonies, destruction by a hurricane, and long-standing land disputes. The resort includes or is near to many culturally significant spots and the sites of some of the most important legends and historical events for Native Hawaiians. The land is ancient Hawaiian royal property that has been in dispute since 1866. In that year, Junius Kaae, along with Kapiolani, Kalakaua, and others filed a petition seeking to revoke the will of Kealiiahonui, which had been filed in probate by Levi Haʻalelea in 1855. The petition was eventually overturned by Sanford B. Dole almost immediately after the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Dole acted as a justice of the supreme court of the provincial government after stepping down from the bench and then being seated as president of the Republic of Hawaii. Litigants were made to sign an agreement for this adjudication to be allowed by Dole. Lyle Guslander leased the site of Coco Palms from the Territory of Hawaii in 1952; the resort opened in early 1953. The hotel manager, Grace Buscher, took control of marketing the hotel as a Hawaiian-style getaway for tourists. A number of films were shot on location at Coco Palms, including Elvis Presley's film Blue Hawaii. The hotel made a big business out of Hawaiian-style weddings for decades. Buscher started a tradition, still in use at hotels throughout the islands, known at the hotel as the torch-lighting ceremony. Buscher also initiated a tree-planting ceremony to replenish the old coconut grove and honor individuals of note. Coco Palms was destroyed by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. In 2016, Honolulu developers GreeneWaters LLC formed a partnership, Coco Palms Hui LLC, to restore the resort. Their intent was to reopen Coco Palms "as part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection." In 2019 the project collapsed. RP21 Coco Palms LLC, also known as Reef Capital Partners, plans to construct a 350-room resort to be completed in 2026.

Wailua River State Park and the Wailua Complex of Heiaus, which it includes, are located on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The park consists primarily of the Wailua River valley, which is the only navigable river in Hawaii. Visitors to this park can kayak, take riverboat cruises and explore the rainforest. Even motorboats and water skiing are permissible on the river.

The Wailuā River is a major river on the island of Kauaʻi in the U.S. state of Hawaii. 23.4 kilometres (14.5 mi) long, it is one of the largest rivers, as well as Kauai's 5th longest river. It is formed by the confluence of its North and South forks just west of Wailua and enters the Pacific Ocean at 22°2′42″N 159°20′11″W. It is the only navigable river (by boats larger than kayaks) in the Hawaiian Islands. It is a center of activity for locals and visitors in the form of boat tours to Fern Grotto, kayaking and water skiing. The North Fork begins at the Mount Waiʻaleʻale at coordinates 22°3′35″N 159°29′33″W and flows 12.2 miles (19.6 km) east to its junction with the South Fork. The South Fork forms at the junction of several streams southwest of Hanamaulu and flows 8.1 miles (13.0 km) east, over Wailua Falls, to its junction with the North Fork. Other points of interest along the river system include a bird refuge, Kamokila Hawaiian Village, Secret Falls and a pool which formerly included a rope swing.

The Kadavul Temple is a Jaffna-Style Hindu temple dedicated to the Shiva located on the Kauai island in the state of Hawaii, USA. It is maintained by the Saiva Siddhanta Temple which is also known as Kauai Aadheenam or Kauai's Hindu Monastery.

Kapaʻa (Kauaʻi dialect: Tapaʻa) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kauaʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. It is the most populous town in the island of Kauai, with a population of 11,652 as of the 2020 census, up from 9,471 at the 2000 census. Kapaʻa is a Hawaiian adjective meaning "solid". It is formed from ka (the) and pa'a (firm).

Hoʻopiʻi Falls are a series of waterfalls along the Kapaʻa Stream, located near the Kapaʻa town on the east shore of Kauai, Hawaii. The falls were used as a filming location in Jurassic Park (1993) for the fictional site of the "Mano de Dios Amber Mine" in the Dominican Republic.