Makapuu is the extreme eastern end of the Island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands, comprising the remnant of a ridge that rises 647 feet above the sea. The cliff at Makapuu Point forms the eastern tip and is the site of a prominent lighthouse. The place name of this area, meaning "bulging eye" in Hawaiian, is thought to derive from the name of an image said to have been located in a cave here called Keanaokeakuapōloli. The entire area is quite scenic and a panoramic view is presented at the lookout on Kalanianaole Highway where the roadway surmounts the cliff just before turning south towards leeward Oahu and Honolulu. The Makapuu area is reached approximately east of Waimānalo Beach on Kalanianaole Highway or from the Honolulu side travelling east along the same highway beyond Sandy Beach. The Makapuu Point State Wayside Park, a roadside park, is about midway up the draw on the right-hand side coming from Hawaii Kai. Features of special interest in this area include:
Makapuu Point Lighthouseis a, active United States Coast Guard lighthouse established in 1909. Construction for the lighthouse was prompted by the grounding of the steamerManchuria in the predawn hours on August 20, 1906 on the reefs off Waimānalo. The lighthouse was automated in 1974 and its keepers quarters demolished in 1987, but the remnants are still visible. The lighthouse contains a roughly French Fresnel hyper-radial lens, the largest lens in use in the United States. The lens is able to magnify and intensify the illumination of a single electrical 1,000-watt, 120-volt light bulb. It was damaged by a vandal firing a bullet at it, but the lens is still in service as it is no longer reproducible. A popular day hike along the access road to the lighthouse begins at a parking lot located south of the Makapuu lookout on Kalanianaole Highway. A second trail leads from the remnants of the keepers quarters to the lighthouse, but it is off limits to the public. The lighthouse itself is also off limits to the public and is protected by three locked gates.
Makapuu Point State Wayside is part of the eastern end of Oahu encompassing Makapuu Head and the lighthouse at Makapuu Point. A paved road, open to the public for foot traffic only, leads out to the Makapuu Lighthouse. The trail is roughly long and rises mostly heading towards the south along the land-side of the ridge and curves around Puu o Kīpahulu, then traverses the ridge bearing right towards the lighthouse, which is closed to the public. A trail leads up from the former Coast Guard residential area to a summit from which the islands of Molokai and Lanai may be seen across the Kaiwi Channel. On particularly clear days, the island of Maui can be visible. Of interest to hikers visiting the wayside park is the possibility of seeing Humpback whales in the waters offshore between the months of November and April. A telescope is available to the public at the summit lookout. There are so-called blowholes along the rocky shore below Makapuu Head which are sometimes active.
Mānana Island is a offshore tuff cone known as Rabbit Island because of its resemblance to a large rabbit's head rising out of the sea and because it was once inhabited by introduced rabbits after a rancher released them there. The island is now a protected bird sanctuary and thereby illegal to land there unless you have permission from the Hawaii Department of Land Natural Resources.
Kāohikaipu – A low volcanic islet off Makapuu Beach Park; also a State Bird Sanctuary.
Makapuu Beach Park and Kaupō Beach Park – All of the rocky shoreline and pocket beaches between the sea cliffs at Makapuu Point and the State Research Pier are beach parks open to the public. Wave conditions at Kaupō are more suited to young beach-goers and poor swimmers. Makapuu Beach is a popular body-surfing beach, but the shore break can be dangerous.
Makai Pier – A long, concrete pier built by the State of Hawaii to support marine research efforts in the Hawaiian Islands. This pier houses several commercial marine engineering firms and HURL.
Ka Iwi State Scenic Shoreline - The coastal area that extends from Makapuu Point Wayside to Sandy's Beach. Included in this section is Pele's Chair rock formation and the beach/swimming spot that shares the same name.
