A four-wheel-drive dirt road leads out of Lanai City, through fallow pineapple fields, past the Kanepuu Preserve (a dry-land forest preserve with rare native Hawaiian trees) to Keahiakawelo, the so-called Garden of the Gods out on Lanai’s north shore. This rugged, beautiful place is full of boulders strewn by volcanic forces and sculpted by the elements into varying shapes and colors—brilliant reds, oranges, ochers, and yellows.

Take the dusty, bumpy drive out to Keahiakewalo early in the morning or just before sunset, when the light casts eerie shadows on the mysterious lava formations. Drive west from the Lodge on Polihua Road; in about 2 miles, you’ll see a hand-painted sign pointing left down a one-lane, red-dirt road through a kiawe forest to the large stone sign.