The island of Lanai is home to many sacred and historical sites, which the natives treat with respect and care. The Kaunolu Archaeological Interpretive Park is a traditional fishing village where daily life revolved around the preparation of food from the sea. The site consists of numerous gravesites, stone shelters and house platforms. There is also a heiau (temple) and a koa (fishing shrine), as well as Kahekili's Leap where Hawaiians practiced lele kawa (cliff jumping). This is a national landmark.

The Luahiwa-Rain Heiau Petroglyph Preserve is a place where the ancient Hawaiians left their picture albums. The ancient Hawaiian people made these images for traditional or spiritual purposes before the 1600's. Two of these stones represent the physical presence of the rain gods where offerings and prayers were given to ensure fertility of the land and race. Another famous site for petroglyphs is Shipwreck Beach where the Birdmen of Lanai is found. These petroglyphs are little stick figures about 12 inches high with bird-like heads and they decorate the rocks on this desolate beach. Whatever their symbolic meaning was remains a mystery. These shores have long been a graveyard for ships and there is a rusty hull of a World War II Liberty Ship stranded on the reef.

On the northwestern side of Lanai lies the haunting beauty of the Garden of the Gods. This is an eerily beautiful, desolate area dominated by large boulders and multi-colored rocks. At sunset a spectrum of colors washes the brick-red earth. Also on the northwestern side lies Kaena Point, the site of Lanai's largest heiau. Between 1837 and 1943 a penal colony for adulterous (how shocking!) women was located here.

On the south coast lies Puu Pehe, also known as "Sweetheart Rock". On the left side of Hulapoe Beach is a large cove lined with a pristine white sand beach. Sweetheart Rock, a sea stack, lies offshore. A young girl, Puu Pehe, drowned in a sea cave and her lover, with the help of the Gods, carried her body to the summit and buried her beneath the ruins of what is believed to be an ancient bird shrine. The abundant marine life in the crystal clear waters of the cove make for excellent snorkeling and swimming.

On the west coast, Kaumalapau Harbor is Lanai's only inter island-shipping terminal. The wharf is a popular local fishing spot and the crystal clear waters of the harbor attract many swimmers and snorklers alike. A scenic overlook affords dramatic views of the sea, high bluffs and the jagged 1,000-foot cliffs that surround the harbor.

The Kanepuu Preserve on northwest Lanai contains the largest remnants of olopua/lama dry land forest in Hawaii. It is also home to 49 species of plant species found only here, including three that are federally endangered: the sandalwood (iliahi), the Hawaii gardenia (na'u) and the vine Bonamia menziesii.