Polihale State Park Beach

The last beach on the road, Polihale State Park Beach is Kauai's westernmost point.

It's the western most point in the United States, with the exception of the forbidden island of Niihau and much of Alaska. The beach is miles away from anything, and can only be reached via dirt sugarcane roads, making a four wheel drive vehicle preferable.

Polihale is an extension of Barking Sands Beach, which makes it the longest beach in Hawaii. It goes on for 17 miles of gorgeous white sand. From the northern end of the beach, you can see the beginning cliffs of the Na Pali coast.

The sand dunes along Polihale reach up to 100-feet in height. The entire beach is unprotected from the ocean so the surf and currents can be challenging, so caution is warranted.

One spot on the 300-foot wide beach that's excellent for swimming is Queen's Pond, a small, protected reef area. It's located on the south part of Polihale Beach heading toward Barking Sands Beach.

If hiking and camping are on your itinerary the Na Pali Coast stretches for 22 miles from Kele Beach in the north to Polihale State Park beach in the west.

On the west side, make sure you stop and soak in a sunset at the Polihale State Park beach. If your journey takes you to the south, check out two of the most popular beaches, Poipu and Kalapaki.

Polihale state beach is about 30 minutes away from Waimea canyon.

This beach has a strong basis in Hawaiian mythology. Polihale means "House of the PoPo", and Po is the Hawaiian afterworld. Spirits would travel to the coastal plain adjacent to the beach, and stay in the temple, known as the heiau.

From there, they would climb the cliffs to the north, jump off into the sea to get to the mythical Po. So strong was this belief that all the homes built in the vicinity of Polihale would have no east facing doors, so that no traveling spirit could become trapped within.

A sea lettuce called pahapaha grows in the waters near Polihale. A wreath made from pahapaha can fade and dry out, but when soaked in water, it will revive to its original freshness. Only the pahapaha from Polihale does this.

According to mythology, Na-maka-o-Kaha'i, sister of Pele and Goddess of the Ocean, blessed Polihale's pahapaha with this special quality. Visitors once took home wreaths made from pahapaha from Polihale to prove they had indeed been there.

The link below leads to visitor reviews of Polihale State Park