Lindbergh's Grave and Palapala Ho'omau Church

Many visitors who travel down Maui's beautiful Road to Hana are completely unaware that one of the unmarked, unpaved roads jutting off from the Hana Highway leads to a picturesque, historic church that is home to the gravesite of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh and many visitors who do know and set out in search of the site are unable to find it, confusing the church with St. Paul's Church, which is viewable from the highway and just a short distance from the Palapala Ho'omau Church, which is the actual home of his final resting place.
 
AT A GLANCE:
Charles Lindbergh is famous for his solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. A deeply private man who valued peace and quiet, he moved to Maui's "hidden" town of Hana in 1968. He settled in the Kipahulu area, and loved the rugged landscape and feeling so remote from the rest of the world. This land was his sanctuary, although he occasionally "rejoined the rest of the world" to speak out on issues of conservation that were important to him.

When he found out that he was dying of terminal cancer, he chose not to undergo any sort of treatment and live out his final days on Maui. Lindbergh died in 1974, and was buried at the graveyard of the Palapala Ho'omau Congregational Church. His inscription reads, 'If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea C.A.L.'

The Palapala Ho'omau Church was built in 1857, and in addition to being the site of Lindbergh's grave, it is also famous for the window painting on the makai (ocean) side featuring a Polynesian Christ adorned in the red-and-yellow capes made of feathers that were reserved for members of the highest Hawaiian royalty.

Address:
Off of Hana Highway, 0.2 miles south of mile marker 41

Directions:
From Paia, head south on Highway 36 (Hana Highway). The Palapa Ho'omau Church is located down an unpaved road a few miles past Hana and a mile beyond Oheo Gulch. The road is unnamed and will be on the left, just past mile marker 41. Once you turn on the road, follow signs to the church.