Route 50 is a road that stretches from
Route 56 at the junction of Rice Street in
Lihue
Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 201 ...
to a point approximately 1/5 mile north of the northernmost entrance of the
Pacific Missile Range Facility
The Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands is a U.S. naval facility and airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the central business district of Kekaha, in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States.
PMRF is the world's lar ...
on the western shore of Kauai. It is the longest numbered road on the
island of Kauai
Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
and is named Kaumualii Highway.
Route description
Hawaii Route 50 begins in Lihue and heads west. The road passes through the only major shopping center on the island at the intersection with
Route 58. From there, the road passes through the countryside and several small communities. There are numerous agricultural farms and plantations set up along the route. The
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
known as
Russian Fort Elizabeth
Pā'ula'ula State Historical Park (Russian Fort Elizabeth) is a National Historic Landmark and is administered as the Pā'ula'ula State Historical Park just southeast of present-day Waimea on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It is located at the s ...
is located where the highway crosses the
Waimea River.
The last major
sugarcane plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...
on Kauai is along the route west of
Waimea.
West of Waimea, Route 50 serves only as an access road to 4 major sites:
Pacific Missile Range Facility
The Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands is a U.S. naval facility and airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the central business district of Kekaha, in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States.
PMRF is the world's lar ...
,
Polihale
Polihale State Park is a remote wild beach on the western side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is the most western publicly accessible area in Hawaii, although the privately owned island of Niihau is further west. The park is miles away f ...
Beach,
Kekaha
Kekaha (literally, "the place" in Hawaiian) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 3,715 at the 2020 census, up from 3,175 at the 2000 census.
History
For most of the 20th century, the Ke ...
Town, and
Waimea Canyon
Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is a large canyon, approximately ten miles (16 km) long and up to 3,000 feet (900 m) deep, located on the western side of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the United States. Wa ...
via
Route 550. The only public services available west of Waimea are a collection of tourist shops and a convenience store at the base of
Route 550.
Route 50 is named after
Kaumualii, the last king of the island of Kauai.
Major intersections
References
External links
Transportation in Kauai County, Hawaii
0050
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