ISLAND OF LANAI
County Offices
200 South High Street
Wailuku, Maui 808-270-7838
www.mauicounty.gov
Chamber of Commerce
313 Ano Street
Kahulu, Maui 808-871-7711
www.mauichamber.com
Visitor’s Bureau
1727 Wili Pa Loop
Wailuku, Maui 808-244-3530
www.gohawaii.com/lanai
The small island jewel of Lanai glistens just west of Maui, encompassed along with the island of Molokai within the County of Maui. Lanai offers a lush, fertile landscape surrounded by white-sand beaches that are kissed by the sun and lapped by Pacific Ocean waters. The smallest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, Lanai covers just 140 square miles. The ancient history of Lanai includes a time when it was believed to be overrun with evil spirits, and the son of a Maui chief was exiled there to purge the island of its curse.
One of the major milestones of Lanai history happened in 1922 when James Dole purchased the island for $1.1 million. Dole began producing pineapple on his new holding, and the innovation of canned pineapple began to take the mainland by storm. Lanai was once the largest exporter of pineapple, producing 75 percent of the fruit for world markets. Lanai was celebrated as “Pineapple Island” and drew thousands to work in the fields. In the latter decades of the 20th century as the pineapple industry began to decline, Lanai began to cultivate tourism as its most lucrative crop. Today, government, agriculture, and tourism are the three-pronged anchors of the island economy.
Services
First-rate educational experiences are available in the public schools within the Hana-Lahainaluna-Laiai-Molokai Area Complex of the County of Maui. Maui Community College in Kahului serves as a tri-island institution of higher education, providing comprehensive opportunities, special programs, and a bachelor’s degree program at its UH Center on Maui. Lanai is home to one of the education centers for the college, with available programs and coursework enhanced by a pioneering television network that reaches rural areas. The Culinary Arts program and the Maui Language Institute are two of many outstanding offerings. The University of Hawaii provides three major four-year campuses: Two on the island of Oahu in Pearl City and Honolulu and one on Hawaii, the Big Island. Oahu is also home to a number of private colleges that include Argosy University Honolulu, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Chaminade University, Hawaii Pacific University, Heald College-Honolulu, Remington College, TransPacific Hawaii College, the University of Phoenix, and Wayland Baptist University.
Lanai residents enjoy easy access to emergency service, acute care, and long-term care at Lanai Community Hospital in Lanai City, built in 1927 to anchor the healthcare services available on the island. As part of the extensive Hawaii Health Services Corporation, the hospital benefits from inclusion in a network of skilled professionals and leading-edge specialties. The island of Maui offers two more hospitals within the HHSC system: Kula Hospital in Kula and Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku. Constantly growing, upgrading, and expanding to meet changing needs, Maui Memorial employs more than 1000 employees and 200 attending physicians. The latest addition to the complex is the new wing opened in 2007, the four-level Kahului Tower. The island of Oahu adds a number of outstanding healthcare hospitals and centers to the list of available resources should the need arise for highly sophisticated care.
Lifestyle
The former pineapple paradise of Lanai began its transformation into a favored place for tourists in the last two decades of the 20th century. Today, luxurious accommodations like the Lodge at Koele and the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay as well as world-famous golf courses make Lanai a wonderful retreat that excels in unspoiled beauty and secluded serenity. The Experience at Koele and the Challenge at Manele are spectacular championship golf courses designed by Ted Robinson and Jack Nicklaus, respectively.
Other activities on Lanai include swimming and sunbathing at Hulopoe Beach, or snorkeling along the cliff-lined western coast. The adventurous may want to hunt for treasures or explore the historic petroglyphs at Shipwreck Beach. The Garden of the Gods is an outstanding feature on the north side of the islands that resembles a sculptured rock garden that inspires visions of ancient divine beings arranging each lava boulder. Lanai Pine Sporting Clays is the only facility of its type in the Hawaiian Islands, where visitors can “shoot to thrill.” Naturalists and hikers will want to explore the rock formations of Keahiakawelo that are scattered across the island.
Outdoor enjoyment is not the only attraction to Lanai, where the Lanai Arts & Culture Center serves as an important showcase for community arts. Lanai City serves as the hub of business and commerce, although don’t expect to find any rush-hour traffic or any buildings that are taller than the swaying palm trees. “Hawaii’s Most Enticing Island” is completely irresistible. Unspoiled landscapes and uninterrupted tranquility are the passwords of Lanai, where relaxing and rejuvenating tend to be the most common pastimes. Like all of the Hawaiian Islands, Lanai offers the world’s finest water sports and a pristine Pacific Coast coastline.
