You can almost drive all the way around the island of Oahu, almost, but not quite. If you want to circumnavigate the entire island you need to go on a hike around the most northwest edge. What this means is that there is a point that you can drive to that is the furthest point west you can reach by car, and that is the beginning of Ka’ena Point State Park.

While Meagan was out on a whale watching trip one day, Lucy and I did some exploration of the West side of Oahu. And we just kept driving until we couldn’t drive any more. At that point we had reached Ka’ena Point. Well we didn’t actually reach Ka’ena Point, because I didn’t want to do an intensive hike with a one year old by myself. But even having not reached the point itself we were able to see a really beautiful area.

I think while you are on Oahu you really ought to travel around to the west side of the island because you get to see a very different landscape of Hawaii. Because most of the rain is trapped on the east side of the island by the mountains, the west side has a much more desert feel to it.

As you travel up Highway 93 toward Ka’ena Point you will pass a lot of beaches. The benefit of these beaches is that the drier climate means that they are sunny most of the time.

You may have heard something about the homeless problem in Hawaii, I know I had. I saw very little of it though until we came over to the west shore of the island. Because of the drier climate this is where the majority of the homeless population congregate in beach villages. You will pass a lot of them as you travel up to the point.

Lucy and I did find a family friendly beach though about half way up the west shore on our way to Ka’ena Point. This beach was called Pokai Bay. Lucy had so much fun playing in the sand and the water here.

When we reached the end of the road we got out and walked around on the cliffs for a little bit before heading back. Most people stopping here though were continuing on to hike up to the actual point through the state park. Maybe someday we will be able to go back and do that hike.