Kīlauea Point National Wildlife RefugeA 203-acre seabird sanctuary on Kauaʻi's northernmost point, anchored by the 1913 Daniel K. Inouye Kīlauea Lighthouse

Kīlauea Point is the northernmost geographic point of the main Hawaiian chain — the next landfall north is the Aleutian Islands, 2,400 miles away. The 200-foot cliffs catch the trade winds head-on, and the updraft is what makes the spot work as a seabird colony: birds returning to their nest holes circle in on the lift, hovering at eye level a few yards from the overlook. There is no other place in the main islands where you can stand a few meters from a nesting albatross.

The Kīlauea Lighthouse — built in 1913 to guide ships on the trans-Pacific shipping lane between Hawaii and the Orient — was retired from active duty in 1976. It was restored in 2013 (the centennial) and renamed for the late Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye. The original 4.5-foot clamshell Fresnel lens (the largest of its kind ever installed) is still in place; the lens turns by a clockwork weight-drive on guided tour days. The light is now electric and runs at night.

Wildlife is the headline. Red-footed boobies nest on the cliff faces in numbers that approach 10,000 birds during peak season (October–March). Laysan albatrosses lay one egg per pair from December through February and the chicks remain on the nest until June, when they fledge directly off the cliff into the trade wind. Great frigatebirds soar the updraft year-round and pirate fish from returning boobies. From the southern overlook, scan offshore: humpback whales spout from December through April, spinner dolphins porpoise along the cliffs most mornings, and Hawaiian monk seals haul out on the small pocket beach below the lighthouse roughly two days a week. The endangered nēnē graze the lawn around the parking lot — keep cars at the speed limit and never approach.