Kipu Ranch Adventures provided one of the most unusual ways to explore Kauai when my family visited the island in February 2008. Instead of seeing the island entirely from paved roads, we climbed into specially configured Yamaha Rhinos and followed a guided route through a working cattle ranch filled with tropical forests, open pastures, mountain views and recognizable movie locations.
Editor’s note: This trip took place in February 2008 and reflects Kipu Ranch Adventures’ operation at that time. The company remains active, but its vehicles, tours, property descriptions, pricing and participation requirements have changed.
A Family UTV Adventure on Kauai
While vacationing on Kauai, I convinced our family and friends to add an off-road adventure to the trip. We chose Kipu Ranch Adventures because its four-seat Yamaha Rhinos were a good fit for two families traveling with children.
At the time, the company operated a fleet of approximately 16 Yamaha Rhinos along with Can-Am ATVs. Several of the Rhinos had been modified with extended roll cages and additional seating so they could carry four people.
Four-seat side-by-sides are common today, but they were far less common in early 2008. The original Rhino was primarily a two-seat machine, so these converted tour vehicles showed how quickly operators were adapting the platform for family recreation. That versatility was part of what made the Rhino so influential in the early UTV market. Read more in our history of the Yamaha Rhino.
Exploring Kipu Ranch by Yamaha Rhino
The guided tour took us through a privately owned working cattle ranch extending from the Huleia River toward the Haupu Mountains. The route passed through green pastures, tropical vegetation, valleys and forested areas that felt worlds away from the terrain where we normally drove UTVs.
The Rhino was well suited to this type of sightseeing. Its compact dimensions allowed it to negotiate the ranch trails, while its relatively relaxed pace gave us time to enjoy the scenery. This was not a hard-core rock-crawling trip or a high-speed UTV tour. The appeal was gaining access to parts of Kauai that visitors would not ordinarily see.
Kauai Movie Locations
Kipu Ranch and the surrounding landscape have appeared in numerous movies. During our tour, the guides pointed out locations associated with productions including Raiders of the Lost Ark, Outbreak, Six Days, Seven Nights, Mighty Joe Young, Hook and Jurassic Park.
One of our stops included a rope swing near an area associated with Raiders of the Lost Ark. We also visited a remote beach identified during the tour as a filming location for Six Days, Seven Nights.
History Along the Route
The scenery was only part of the experience. The guides also shared stories about Kipu Ranch and the Rice family’s long connection to Kauai.
William Hyde Rice arrived on Kauai with his missionary family in 1854 and later became a prominent rancher and public figure. Queen Liliuokalani visited Kauai in 1891 and was a guest of Rice and his wife, Mary. After arriving at Nawiliwili, the queen traveled by horse-drawn carriage to the Rice home in Lihue.
We also passed tall, narrow Cook pines along the route. Local stories commonly associate these trees with the possibility of supplying replacement masts for visiting sailing ships.
Kipu Ranch UTV Tours Today
Kipu Ranch Adventures continues to operate guided off-road tours on Kauai, but the operation has changed considerably since our 2008 visit. The company currently describes Kipu Ranch as a 3,000-acre private cattle ranch and offers several guided tour experiences through its trail system.
The modified Yamaha Rhinos have been replaced by newer Kawasaki side-by-sides. Current vehicle options include:
- Kawasaki Teryx4: A four-seat recreational UTV used on the ranch and waterfall tours.
- Kawasaki MULE PRO-FXT: A larger utility side-by-side that can accommodate groups of up to six, subject to tour availability.
The transition from converted Yamaha Rhinos to factory-built multi-passenger UTVs reflects the larger evolution of the side-by-side industry. Modern four- and six-seat machines provide more passenger room, improved restraints, power steering and more refined suspension than the early tour vehicles we drove in 2008.
Tour offerings, vehicle availability, age restrictions and prices can change. Anyone considering a trip should review the current information directly through Kipu Ranch Adventures before making plans.
A Kawasaki MULE at Lydgate Beach
Kipu Ranch was not the only place we encountered a UTV on Kauai. At Lydgate Beach, we spotted a Kawasaki MULE being used as a lifeguard work vehicle.
That practical application demonstrated the other side of the UTV market. While the Rhinos carried visitors through the ranch, the MULE gave beach personnel a compact vehicle for patrol and response work on terrain where a conventional road vehicle would be less suitable.
Modern MULE models remain focused on work, passenger capacity and durability. See how the current models compare in our Kawasaki MULE lineup guide.
Looking Back at Our Kauai UTV Tour
Our 2008 Kipu Ranch trip captured an interesting moment in UTV history. The Yamaha Rhino had already transformed recreational side-by-sides, but factory four-seat models had not yet become commonplace. Tour operators were creating their own solutions by adding rear seating and extended cages to two-seat machines.
The equipment has changed, but the basic appeal remains the same: a UTV provides a way to take a family beyond the pavement and experience scenery that would otherwise be difficult to reach.
Explore more firsthand destinations and off-road adventures in the UTVGuide.net Trip Reports archive.
