This park was a remote fishing village 600 years ago. An unshaded, 1-mile loop trail traverses the 262-acre grounds, passing the remains of stone walls, house sites, canoe sheds and fishing shrines. Visitors can try their hand at Hawaiian games, with game pieces and instructions laid out for ʻoʻo ihe (spear throwing), konane (checkers) and ʻulu maika (stone bowling). Nothing is elaborately presented, so visitors need an imagination to appreciate the modest remains. Located just south of Mile 14.
The village of Lapakahi grew into an ahupuaʻa – a wedge-shaped division of land radiating from the mountains to the sea. When the freshwater table dropped in the 19th century, the village was abandoned.
Lapakahi's clear waters are loaded with tropical fish and belong to a marine-life conservation district. But this is a historical, not recreational, park, with historically sacred waters. Park staff may grant permission for snorkeling, but they generally discourage it.