Visit Kenolio Beach Park (Kihei Wharf), Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

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Kenolio Beach, also known as Kihei Wharf, is located just south of Kihei Beach Resort. This is a long beach but vey rocky. It is not suited for swimming and snorkeling, but is the home of the Kihei Outrigger Canoe Club which takes visitors out bi-weekly into the bay for early morning paddling and Hawaiian cultural immersion. Across the street at the north end you can find the Farmers Market, shaved ice, a bakery, and the Kenolio Pak and Youth Center. Kihei Wharf was first built in 1899 by Henry Baldwin, to service his new Kihei Sugar Plantation in the area now known as Kihei. The raw sugar product was shipped out to California for processing, and supplies were brought in here. People started using the wharf for fishing, and small boats would come and go. Plantation housing was built across from the wharf to house the workers from Japan, Portugal, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Pretty soon the activity attracted a Chinese merchant who opened a small general store. Families started settling in and buying land, building homes, and the community of Kihei was born. The little wharf has long since faded away, but a rocky pier-like structure still exists today, and you can often see local fishermen trying their luck at catching dinner. You can relax on the park bench and watch the paddlers from Kihei Canoe Club getting exercise. It's a nice sandy beach to spend some time while remembering the humble roots of this lively town. Across the street are some businesses and sometimes a farmers market. A lot has changed, yet in some ways, not much has changed since those days.

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