Hanalei is located on the North central coast of Kauai Island. Near the head of Hanalei Bay, the village is in scenic and fertile Hanalei or Hanohano Valley, one of the states few rice producing regions.

Missionaries arrived at the site in 1834, and Mission Home was built and furnished with materials brought aboard Cape Horn. The Waioli Mission, now used as a community center, combines the strakness of a New England clapboard house with Hawaiian details such as lanais, wide eaves, and long slopping roof lines.

Lumahai Beach, located on the west, is a noted beauty spot.