FOOTSTEPS TO NOWHERE KAUAI'S BEACHES ARE NUMEROUS, MATCHLESS - AND OFTEN TRACKLESS.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

LIHUE, Hawaii - They are the undisputed darlings of Kauai tourism, their beauty somehow maintaining a perpetual freshness. They frequently strike dramatic poses for the producers of calendars, postcards and magazine covers, and even when the camera-toting tourists inevitably close in, they willingly oblige with a flash of sun-streaked gold, a sparkle of blue, a gleam of pearly white.

These are the beaches of Hawaii's Garden Isle, and they are nothing short of dazzling.

Plentiful, too. On an island of only 552 square miles, there are 45 named beaches, their names ranging from the musical rhythms of the native tongue (Nukolii, Kuhio, Lumahai) to Anglicized slang (Rock Quarry, Donkey, Black Pot) to hints of romance or adventure (Hideaways, Secret, Shipwreck).

And many of them are as secluded and exotic as their names. The islands of Oahu and Maui log considerably more tourist traffic, and their beaches can quickly be overrun. But Kauai, at the distant, western end of the chain, continues to maintain a sleepy, country charm, even in the face of ever-increasing development.

Most of the beaches are not marked by any signs along the two-lane highway that nearly encircles the island. Instead, you often have to study your rental-car map and do a little dead reckoning. This can mean parking in an unmarked turnout along the road, perhaps negotiating a faint path, but ultimately emerging onto a pristine scallop of sand.

In many cases, you won't find restrooms or services or lifeguards. But you also might not find much company, and therein lies the appeal of Kauai's sandy coastline. This is the place to unfold a beach chair, open a book and read undisturbed for hours. Or take a long walk along the water's edge, looking for sea shells. Or simply partake of a sumptuous feast for the senses: bright blue sky, verdant jungle, creamy sand, invigorating breeze, the startling thunder of surf against reef or shoreline.

While in a state of rapture, however, try to maintain a healthy respect for that ocean. The waters off Kauai are some of the most treacherous in the Hawaiian Islands. Many beaches have safe swimming areas, but some can be dangerous - the north shore is particularly rough in winter, the south shore in summer.

It would be absurd to attempt to rank Kauai's beaches. So a selection of beaches is presented here in geographic order, following a counterclockwise sweep around the island's edge - from the western extremity of the coast highway to its terminus at the forbidden Na Pali cliffs on the north shore.

Polihale. Its remoteness provides a quintessential Kauai beach experience. You drive west on the island's main highway until just before the asphalt runs out beneath your wheels. A small, green sign points the way to the beach, and off you go along a washboard dirt road through a field of sugarcane.

You'll get your teeth rattled for five miles on this track, but the payoff is considerable. Polihale is an ocean of sand, more dune than beach, framed on the northern edge by the precipitous backside of Na Pali. Offshore to the southwest is the tiny sliver of the island of Niihau. If you're not timid about returning on that dirt road in the dark, time your visit with the sunset, which is spectacular.

And if you've always wanted to take a long, aimless walk along a beach, this is the place. You could walk for 17 miles of uninterrupted sand beach. That sand is the fine, powered-sugar variety, and the array of shells is astounding.

The dirt road scares off the tour buses, so you'll find plenty of seclusion here. It is, however, a state park, and there are restrooms and picnic tables. A couple of advisories: Don't leave your sandals in the car, because you can roast your feet on the broad expanse of sand before you ever get near the water's edge. Also, in the makeshift parking areas, park on firm dirt, even if it means walking a little further to the beach; the handmade signs that warn of ``quicksand'' are no gag - unless you're amused by a rental car sunk to the axles.

Salt Pond. Particularly if you have young children with you, this is the place to come to enjoy a dip in the warm, tropical waters. This beach has a swimming-pool-like cove in the shape of a ``C,'' the tips composed of protective reef and nearly touching, and the ocean swells are beaten into submission on that reef. This is also the rare Kauai beach at which a lifeguard is posted.

It's a beach park, with a grassy area, picnic pavilions and facilities, but it is not particularly well known to tourists so most of its visitors are locals. That can be a pleasant feature. On our December visit, two Hawaiian men were sitting at a picnic table in the shade, one picking a guitar, the other strumming a ukulele.

To reach this beach, which is in west Kauai near the town of Hanapepe, turn off the main highway at Lele Road, then turn right on Lokokai Road.

Poipu. Two nearly identical coves sit side by side at this popular beach park on the island's southern extremity. Relatively calm in-shore waters and the presence of a lifeguard make this another great spot for kids or seniors. (At the left side of the left cove is a natural wading pool, hemmed in by reef. It is utterly calm, with a sandy bottom, and about knee- deep to a 4-year-old.)

The body-boarding and snorkeling are good here, but this is the rare Kauai beach at which you will have plenty of company. The close proximity of some sprawling condo complexes and a couple of resort hotels ensures that.

There's a narrow spit of sand between the two coves, and at busy times it can look like Hermosa Beach on a sunny summer day. The local youngsters favor this park, too, and at times it can get a little boisterous.

One cove over to the left (as you face the ocean) is Brennecke's Beach, which was the best bodysurfing beach in Hawaii until Hurricane Iwa swiped all of its sand in 1982. Sand has since been hauled in, and the beach just now appears to be making a tentative recovery.

The beach park is well-marked off Poipu Road. For a casual, open-air setting for food and drink, you can't beat Brennecke's Beach Broiler, which overlooks the park.

Shipwreck. Continue on down Poipu Road to where the Hyatt Regency stands, but don't be intimidated if you're not a guest. There is no such thing as a private hotel beach in Hawaii. In fact, as an accommodation for beach-goers, the Hyatt constructed a large public parking lot and put in restrooms and an outdoor shower.

The beach itself is rarely crowded - hotel guests seem to prefer the sandy shores of the fake lagoon on the property over the real beach a few steps away. The cove, which gets some protection at the east edge from a rock outcropping, is popular with body-boarders, but be careful out there: The bottom slopes off pretty sharply, which can create a nasty shore break. I discovered in some moderate surf that the bottom is a mix of sand and boulders.

Makawehi Point, at the east edge of the beach, is easily ascended. It's popular with pole fishermen and is a good spot to snap a photo of the beach. To reach this beach, turn onto Ainako Street between the Hyatt Regency and the Poipu Bay Golf Course.

Anini. This is one of a string of superb north-shore beaches, but the nearby residents zealously fight to maintain its seclusion and simplicity. Small wonder. It was at one of these beachfront homes that James Caan attempted to charm Sarah Jessica Parker in ``Honeymoon in Vegas,'' rolling back a retractable wall to reveal the ocean and saying, ``This will be your room.'' Singer Graham Nash has a home down here somewhere.

Anini is one of the few Kauai beaches that is protected by a broad, offshore reef, so the water is generally calm and ideal for a dip or snorkeling. When the breeze comes up, it's also popular with beginning wind surfers.

The surroundings are tough to beat: It's a country setting, with horse farms, narrow lanes and peek-a-boo houses tucked into the lush undergrowth.

The strip of sand is pretty narrow, but there is a grassy beach park. If you neglected to pack lunch, watch for one of the mainstays of Kauai's beaches: rickety vans out of which entrepreneurs sell fruit, fish tacos and cold drinks.

The picnic ground (at the east end of the park) is segregated from a campground (at the west end), which is a good thing. You're likely to feel comfortable in the campground only if you had a really good time at Woodstock.

To reach Anini, keep an eye out for Kalihiwai Road as you wheel north from Kilauea. Ignore it. Soon, you'll come to another Kalihiwai Road (it used to be a loop road until it was washed out down by the shore). Turn on this second road, even though it says ``No Outlet.'' Then turn left on Anini Road (ignoring another ``No Outlet'' sign). This road bends down to a long stretch of beach.

Hideaways. You have to work pretty hard to get to this beach, which lies at the base of a steep bluff in Princeville, but it's well worth the trouble, especially in summer when the water is calm.

On Ka Haku Road, just before you reach the Princeville Hotel, there is a tiny public parking lot of 10 spaces on the right, and a narrow path follows a chain-link fence to the lip of the bluff. Now the fun really begins: a precariously steep stairway through the jungle to the beach.

You can probably guess the result: delicious isolation. Pack light for this excursion, though - the climb back up that stairway is a killer.

Lumahai. You've likely received a postcard of this beach from acquaintances who wanted to rub your nose in the fact that they were in Kauai and you weren't. Chances are, your friends never set foot on the beach.

It is the most beautiful beach in Kauai - arguably in Hawaii. But it is yet another beach that has no signs telling you where it is or how to get to it. It also requires some determination and hardiness to reach.

As you wander up the north-shore highway, note the odometer reading as you pass the distinctive, green missionary church of Waioli Huiia in the quaint community of Hanalei. After another two miles, as the road winds onto the bluffs above Hanalei Bay, you'll see a low, lava-rock wall on the right and a series of small turnouts.

Pull into one of the turnouts just past the wall and look for a rusty steel post sticking out of the ground. It's supposed to be a beach-warning signpost, but locals, wanting to keep Lumahai a secret, tear the sign off with such frequency that the local government folks have given up on it. It's a short walk down stone steps and through a thick rain forest to the beach. (If you're susceptible to mosquito bites, lather up with repellent beforehand.)

At the bottom of the trail you'll find a beach of beguiling beauty. It is a wide crescent of golden sand, fringed by a stand of ironwood trees, with the green pali ascending behind them. A shelf of jagged, black lava rock protrudes into the water at the right side of the beach, while other outcroppings jut from the surf at the left side. Close to shore, the water is a brilliant turquoise, a shade that is enhanced by the deep blues several feet farther out.

Particularly in winter, the ocean puts on quite a show here, cascading over those black rocks and booming onto shore. The ocean is extraordinarily dangerous here, and not just for swimming; unwary tourists posing for pictures have been swept off that rock shelf and out to sea.

There is little sense of civilization here - you can't even hear the cars on the highway on the bluff above. The beach was prominent in the 1958 movie ``South Pacific,'' but unfortunately, as you sit here whiling away an afternoon with a book, you might think more of ``Apocalypse Now.'' Sightseeing helicopters continually buzz overhead. You can imagine the spiel: ``And right down there is lovely Lumahai Beach, where Mitzi Gaynor washed that man right out of her hair. Wow, look at those two people who have it all to themselves.''

Tunnels. Ever since ``South Pacific'' hit the movie screens, the daggerlike volcanic protrusions at the end of Kauai's north-shore highway have been called the cliffs of Bali Hai (real name: Makana Peak). Sheathed in lush, green vegetation, with their crevasses accented by deep shadow and their tips often crowned by clouds, their exotic beauty is almost distracting.

This is the best beach at which to contemplate them - whether you're strolling the water's edge, snorkeling among the near-shore coral beds or sprawled in a beach chair.

Parking for this unmarked beach is sorely limited, especially after the local authorities responded to residents' complaints by putting up ``No Parking'' signs along a considerable stretch of highway that borders it.

An off-highway parking area accommodates only eight or nine vehicles, so if you're planning a beach day here, you might want to get an early start. The lot is easy to miss. After you pass the YMCA and mile marker 8 on the right, you'll see a yellow tsunami warning horn on the left. A couple of hundred feet farther on, turn into an unmarked, dirt lane. If the lot is full, continue on to Haena Beach Park, then trudge back up the beach to Tunnels.

The beach got its name from the sandy channels that course through the coral beds. If you're swimming in one of those as the tide is going out, by the way, you might find yourself swimming in place for a spell on your way in (as I did). It's a good idea to stay in water in which you can stand, since it's much easier to walk the ocean bottom against a tidal current than swim against it.

Kee. Pronounced Kay-ay (two long-A vowels), this is the beach at the end of the road. It's also at the mouth of the popular Kalalau Trail. The two factors combine to make it one popular stopping place for tourists. Many stay for just a few minutes, but it nonetheless gets a lot of traffic.

Don't let that deter you from stopping here, though. It's a lovely spot. A lush slope rises steeply from the shoreline. The cliffs of the Na Pali coast protrude like giant knuckles into the sea. The ocean is tamed on a broad reef. Trees and vegetation crowd the sand (providing cover for those who don't want to get too much sun). And the water of the cove glistens in the afternoon, a precursor to some fabulous sunsets.

The cove is fairly well sheltered, although you should be extremely careful in winter and be wary of a toilet-bowl-like surge out its opening to the ocean. Because the rest of the beach is protected by the reef, this can be a pleasant place to walk along the water's edge - and walk and walk and walk.

As with most of Kauai's beaches, you might find that it doesn't take long to achieve a divine sense of solitude.

IF YOU GO

OFF THE SHELF: Kauai beach-goers can benefit from two helpful guidebooks: ``Kauai Underground Guide'' (Papaloa Press; $12.95) and ``The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook'' (Wizard Publications; $12.95). They're a bit obscure; if you can't track them down, ``Hidden Hawaii'' (Ulysses Press; $18.95) will do in a pinch.

SAFETY: Up-to-date reports on Kauai's beaches - notably the more treacherous ones - can be perused at www.teok.com. County ocean-safety officials can provide information at [phone].

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) It's easy to get lost in your thoughts on a walk along Kauai's Polihale Beach. From the Na Pali bluffs on the western edge og the island, it's possible to walk 17 miles of interrupted beach. It'sn not readily accessible but well worth the trouble.

(2) Many of Kauai's beaches have treacherous waters, but one of the safest is Salt Pond, near Hanapepe. The cove is almost completely closed off by a reed, creating calm swimming waters. There are also tide pools to explore.

(3) Visitors need persistence to reach some of Kauai's beaches, such as the aptly named Hideaways, which lies at the bottom of this staircase.

(4) If you forget lunch on a Kauai beach trip, keep an eye open for ramshackle vans that patrol the island carrying fruit, ices, sandwiches, and hot items for sale.

(5) no caption (Quicksand sign)

(6) no caption (Polihale Beach sign)

(7) Gorgeous Lumahai beach was a setting for the 1958 movie ``South Pacific.'' Locals have guarded the spot's location by ripping down road signs.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

Box: If You Go (see text)

Map: Kauai