Hawaii's abandoned landscape is unlike anywhere else in America — a plantation town buried under lava flows from Kilauea's 1990 eruption, sugar mill ruins covered in tropical vines within a decade of closure, WWII coastal defense batteries hidden in the Oahu jungle and a Cold War missile tracking station abandoned on a Maui mountaintop. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in Hawaii, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
Why Hawaii Is a Hidden Gem for Abandoned Buildings & Urban Exploration
Hawaii's abandoned landscape is shaped by two forces — the volcanic geology that can bury an entire neighborhood in hours, and the tropical climate that reclaims abandoned structures faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. Sugar plantations that employed thousands for a century closed within a generation; what they left behind is being consumed by the jungle at remarkable speed, making every Hawaii urbex site a race against the vegetation.
1. Kalapana – 1990 Neighborhood Buried by Kilauea Lava Flows, Street Signs and Foundations Still Visible on the Hardened Black Rock, Big Island (Known Location)
In 1990 Kilauea's ongoing eruption sent lava flows through the neighborhood of Kalapana on the Big Island's southeast coast, burying over 100 homes, the famous Kaimū Black Sand Beach and the entire Royal Gardens subdivision under hardened lava. The flows continued through 2018, when another eruption buried what remained of the neighborhood's outskirts. What remains is one of the most surreal landscapes in America — a black, glassy lava plain stretching to the coast, with street signs surfacing from the rock, foundations of houses visible through cracks and the skeletal remains of palms standing in solidified lava. The Painted Church stands at the edge of the covered area. One of the most geologically extraordinary abandoned places in Hawaii.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Kalapana, Hawaii
2. Koloa Sugar Mill – Hawaii's First Sugar Mill 1835, Abandoned Smokestack and Ruins Still Standing in Koloa Town, Kauai (Known Location)
Established in 1835 as the first successful sugar plantation in Hawaii, Koloa Sugar Mill on Kauai's south shore operated for 150 years before the Hawaii sugar industry's collapse in the 1990s ended production. The original stone chimney stack from the 1835 mill still stands in Koloa town, alongside ruins of the processing infrastructure — the most historically significant surviving industrial structure in the state and a monument to the plantation era that shaped Hawaii's entire social and economic history. The ruins sit within walking distance of Koloa town center, making this one of the most accessible abandoned places in Hawaii.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. WWII Coastal Defense Batteries – 1941 Concrete Gun Emplacements Buried in the Oahu Jungle, Diamond Head and Kaena Point (Exclusively on Our Map)
Built in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor across strategic points on Oahu's coastline, the WWII coastal defense batteries — concrete gun emplacements, observation posts and fire control bunkers — are now consumed by tropical jungle growth at Diamond Head, Kaena Point and along the Oahu shore. The combination of WWII military history, Pacific Ocean views and the extraordinary pace at which Hawaii's vegetation reclaims concrete structures creates a uniquely tropical military urbex experience found nowhere else in the United States. One of the best abandoned places in Hawaii for WWII Pacific history. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Abandoned Maui Sugar Plantation Mill – 1900s Processing Complex with Original Crusher Rollers Still on the Floor, Central Maui (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1900s sugar mill from the height of Maui's plantation era — original cane crusher rollers still on the processing floor, the massive boiler house with furnace doors intact and the mill chimney still standing above the surrounding cane fields that are now reverting to native vegetation. Maui's sugar industry ended in 2016 when the last operating mill closed after 150 years; the mill complexes left behind are the most significant industrial ruins in the state outside the Big Island's lava fields. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned Plantation Camp Village – 1910s Sugar Worker Housing with Original Plantation Bungalows Still Standing, Big Island (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1910s plantation worker housing camp from the era of contract labor migration — Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese and Puerto Rican workers brought to Hawaii's sugar fields and housed in plantation bungalows arranged by ethnic group. The original camp buildings still stand in various states of tropical decay, the different architectural styles of each ethnic section visible in the bungalow designs and the surrounding jungle pressing in on what was once a carefully organized social experiment in plantation labor. One of the most historically significant and least-photographed abandoned places in Hawaii. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips for Urban Exploration in Hawaii
- Lava fields: hardened lava surfaces are extremely sharp and unstable — never walk on lava fields without sturdy boots and always stay on marked paths near active volcanic areas
- Tropical vegetation: Hawaii's jungle reclaims structures rapidly, creating hidden structural hazards under beautiful greenery — always test surfaces before committing weight
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and let someone know your location
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ – Abandoned Places in Hawaii
What is the most famous abandoned place in Hawaii?
Kalapana on the Big Island — a neighborhood buried by Kilauea lava flows in 1990, with street signs, house foundations and palm skeletons still visible through the hardened black lava. One of the only places in America where you can stand on top of an entire buried neighborhood.
What is the Koloa Sugar Mill?
Hawaii's first successful sugar mill, established in Koloa on Kauai's south shore in 1835 — the oldest industrial site in the state. The original stone chimney from the 1835 mill still stands in Koloa town, alongside ruins of the processing infrastructure from 150 years of operation that ended with the collapse of Hawaii's sugar industry in the 1990s.
Are there WWII abandoned sites in Hawaii?
Yes — Oahu has extensive WWII coastal defense infrastructure built after the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941. Gun emplacements, observation posts and fire control bunkers at Diamond Head, Kaena Point and along the Oahu coastline are now partially consumed by tropical vegetation, creating a uniquely jungle-warfare aesthetic rare in American military urbex.
🎯 Summary
Hawaii's abandoned buildings are unlike anything else in America — a neighborhood buried under lava, sugar mills consumed by tropical jungle within a decade of closure and WWII gun emplacements hidden under orchids and ferns on Oahu's clifftops. Each of these 5 abandoned places in Hawaii captures a different dimension of the most geologically and culturally distinctive state in the Union.
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