When people move on and industry crumbles, the remains are often abandoned amid the landscape and Hawaii is no exception. From long-abandoned sugar mills and factories to relics of Hawaiian royalty and religion, Hawaii is home to various abandoned structures. Some of these places have been left to battle with nature for so long that they have become ruins that will almost certainly transport you to a bygone era of Hawaiian history. Slowly crumbling to the ground and being reclaimed by nature, these 11 ruins remind us not only of where we have come from but also of how quickly our surroundings can change if we don’t take care of them.

1. Marconi Wireless Station
Army.Arch/Flickr
This abandoned building that sits on Makai Ranch was part of the Marconi Wireless Station in World War I, used for communication with other Hawaiian Islands and the Americas. In World War II, the site was repurposed as an air base, but now sits abandoned.
2. Koloa Sugar Mill
Nicki Dugan Pogue/Flickr
Founded in 1935, the Koloa Sugar Mill was part of Hawaii’s first commercially successful sugarcane plantation. While the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, it is not immune to the damaging effects of nature.
3. Waialee Home for Wayward Boys
Keoni Cabral/Flickr
This is all that remains of the former reformatory school for wayward boys on Oahu’s north shore, just blocks from some of the island’s most incredible beaches. The school was in operation for fifty years in the early 1900s, and its residents were sent there for everything from truancy and disobedience to larceny and assault.
4) The Bishop Home
NPS CulturalLandscapes/Flickr
Located at the Kalaupapa Leper Colony, the Bishop Home once consisted of 16 buildings, including the convent (pictured above), chapel, social hall, dormitories, kitchen and laundry houses, and more. Today, the campus includes ruins of several of the former buildings.
5. A decrepit factory that has been left in ruins on Kauai.
Greg Bate/Flickr

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6. An Oahu sugar mill.
Johnathan Haeber/Flickr
This abandoned sugar refinery on Oahu was opened in 1863 and found little success, closing its doors just thirty years later – perhaps in part due to the fact that, shortly after the mill opened, a young boy fell into a vat of boiling sugar and died due to the severe burns a few days later.
7. Cocoa Palms Resort
Jeff/Flickr
Located on Kuhio Highway in Wailua, Coco Palms was once a luxurious vacation destination popular among Hollywood movie stars and other celebrities in the 1950s. The resort was hit by Hurricane Iniki in 1992, and has been abandoned ever since. However, there are plans to restore, and the resort could reopen its doors as early as 2017.
8. Kaniakapupu Ruins
As_tue/Flickr
Better known as King Kamehameha III’s summer home, this is an phenomenal treasure and piece of true Hawaiian history hidden away near Oahu’s Pali Highway. The structure dates back to 1847, and was only used for a few decades before being abandoned and reclaimed by nature. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to visit the ruins and must simply admire this stunning piece of Hawaiian history in photographs.
9) An ancient stone house sits abandoned near the Big Island’s Waipio Valley.
John Penny/Flickr
10. Kualao Sugar Mill
Nathanael Coyne/Flickr
Oahu’s Kaaawa Valley is home to one of the most popular film production sites in Hawaii, Kualoa Ranch where films like Jurassic Park, Lost, and Godzilla were shot. The valley is also home to the beautiful ruins of an old sugar mill.
11. Polu’ahu Heiau
Jasperdo/Flickr
Likely constructed in the 1600s, the Polu’ahu Heiau was a large religious temple, approximately an acre in size and surrounded by a 5-foot high lava rock wall. The heiau was abandoned in 1819 when the traditional Hawaiian religion was abolished, and the remains are preserved today as part of the Wailua River State Park.

There is something strangely beautiful about these abandoned places, don’t you agree? Have you ever visited any of these ruins before? Share your experiences with us in the comments below!

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Hawaii Ruins And Abandoned Places

Megan Shute | August 10, 2020

Are there any cool abandoned places in Hawaii?

Like any American state, you'll find several abandoned places across the Hawaiian Islands - from the remains of the Waialee Home for Wayward Boys to the forgotten remnants of Paradise Park, an exotic bird zoo on the island of Oahu that was abandoned and left to battle nature in the early 1990s. Perhaps most famous, however, is Coco Palms Resort, a once-bustling locale on the island of Kauai loved by Elvis Presley but destroyed by Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

Can I visit any abandoned places in Hawaii?

Yes, you certainly can! In addition to the abandoned seismograph station found within the Lyon Arboretum, you can visit the ruins of Kaniakapupu, the summer home owned by Kamehameha III and his wife. While I've heard the area is technically off-limits, I stumbled across the ruins when meandering through the bamboo forest on my way to Lulumahu Falls.

Are there any ghost towns in Hawaii?

While there are no ghost towns in the traditional sense of the phrase (the islands simply don't have enough landmass for true ghost towns to exist), Hawaii is home to at least one abandoned community: a neighborhood on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam that was abandoned under mysterious circumstances. While there are rumors as to why the neighborhood was abandoned, I can’t find actual documentation to support any specific claims.

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