Waimea Sugar Mill


The evocative skeleton of this 19th-century sugar mill still looms over Waimea. Pumping out sugar from the Westside, it fueled Kaua‘i’s economy until 1945. Successive waves of immigrants from Germany, England, China, Norway and beyond toiled here. A good spot for a picnic, it makes an evocative backdrop to the Menehune Products Fair.


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Nearby attractions

1. West Kauaʻi Technology & Visitor Center

0.04 MILES

Waimea’s friendly visitor center holds modest but interesting exhibits on Hawaiian culture, Captain Cook, sugar plantations and the US military. Its gift…

2. Waimea United Church of Christ

0.17 MILES

What’s now the Waimea United Church of Christ was originally erected in 1847 by Reverend George Rowell. Protestant missionaries had lived in Waimea for…

3. Waimea State Recreational Pier

0.21 MILES

Flecked with microscopic green crystals called olivine, this wide, dark-tinged beach stretches between two scenic rock outcroppings and is bisected by the…

4. Waimea Hawaiian Church

0.28 MILES

Sunday’s Hawaiian-language mass at this simple low-slung church makes an interesting way to connect with local culture. Waimea’s first Christian…

5. Hofgaard Park

0.35 MILES

This small grassy park at Waimea’s main intersection holds a statue of Captain Cook. Display panels explain local history.

6. Captain Cook Monument

0.36 MILES

A statue of Captain James Cook stands on Waimea’s central green space. When his ships Resolution and Discovery sailed into Waimea Bay in January 1778,…

7. Waimea Town Center

0.37 MILES

Waimea’s plantation-era core offers some interesting architecture. Take a short stroll to admire the neoclassical First Hawaiian Bank (1929), the art deco…

8. Captain Cook Landing Site

0.5 MILES

The precise spot where Captain Cook first set foot on Hawaiian soil being unknown, a large boulder near the mouth of Waimea River was arbitrarily chosen…