Another Huge Piece of Kauai Just Vanished. Visitors Feel It.

Another huge piece of Kauai just disappeared. And unless you’re a billionaire, it probably was not yours. Mark Zuckerberg has quietly expanded his North Shore estate by an additional 1,000 acres, bringing his total to more than 2,300 acres.

The land sits just inland from Pilaa and Larsen’s Beach, in an area many visitors have long considered one of the last real stretches of old Kauai. But if you’ve ever returned to the same quiet reef or dirt trail year after year, you might feel like something else is disappearing too.

Reader Tom told us, “We used to hike down toward Larsen’s every trip. There wasn’t a trailhead or anything official, but it always felt open. Now it feels like we’re not supposed to be there at all.”

For travelers, these places are more than points on a map. They are the parts of Hawaii you stumbled upon, came to love, and imagined would always be there. The beach path with no sign. The overlook with no crowds. The memory that felt like it belonged to you. It didn’t. But that never stopped it from feeling personal.

Zuckerberg’s estate now matches the size of entire towns.

Zuckerberg’s property has been growing steadily since 2014, when he purchased an initial 700 acres for approximately $100 million. The newest piece, just over 960 acres of former ranch land, was purchased under a Hawaiian-sounding LLC for a reported $65 million. The seller was the Mary Lucas Trust, tied to a historic family with deep plantation-era land ties. Zuckerberg’s island estate now covers more land than many Kauai towns.

This isn’t just a house. According to public records, the estate includes dozens of structures, security infrastructure, guest quarters with sixteen bedrooms and bathrooms each, underground shelters with blast-resistant doors, and at least three water pump buildings. Planning documents also reveal a lanai bigger than many island homes. Some of these buildings resemble a compound more than a getaway.

Ancestral graves fenced off inside the property.

Some reports have raised concern that ancestral burial sites may exist within the boundaries of Zuckerberg’s estate. While no detailed information is public, the possibility adds another layer of tension around the property, especially given its location near historic shoreline communities. Questions about who controls access, what gets discovered, and how much the public will ever know remain unresolved.

He’s not alone in wondering what happens next. Nondisclosure agreements tightly bind construction workers. If bones are uncovered, who will know? Who decides what happens? And who has access to places that were once part of community memory?

Does Kauai still feel like yours?

Zuckerberg’s team says the land will be used for cattle ranching, organic ginger production, macadamia nut cultivation, turmeric farming, native plant restoration, and the protection of endangered species. They say they canceled the previous owner’s plan to build 80 luxury homes. They’ve also donated to local nonprofits, including a charter school and a housing project.

But the gates are still there. The shoreline may be public, but the land surrounding it is not. What once felt open—ranch roads, quiet paths, or the sense that you could explore freely, is now sealed off, monitored, and heavily private. For those who knew this corner of Kauai before, the feeling has changed. Reader Karen said, “You still have the legal right to access the shoreline, but they make it very clear you’re being watched.”

This is not just about Zuckerberg.

Larry Ellison owns nearly all of Lanai. Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, and Marc Benioff have significant holdings on Maui and the Big Island. And more land is quietly changing hands. It’s often former plantation land or old ranches. It happens without much noise. But over time, it changes the feel of entire islands.

Zuckerberg owns the land beneath the Kaloko Dam, where a deadly collapse in 2006 killed seven people. He also owns a stretch of coastline that includes ancestral fishing grounds, forest, and trails. His land surrounds beaches that are still technically public, but are now far harder to reach.

Kauai’s remote beaches and cliff trails are disappearing.

This isn’t about blame. But it is about loss. For those who live here and travelers who have returned to the same places on Kauai for decades, the land is not just scenery. It is a part of memory and connection. That connection feels more fragile now. Marianne wrote, “We’ve been coming to Kauai for most of our lives. It used to feel like the island was glad we came. Lately, it feels like we’re in the way.”

When you fly to Kauai, you’re not just booking a flight. You’re hoping the place you love is still there. Still open. Still generous. Still welcoming in the way Hawaii once felt for everyone.

When the places you loved start disappearing, do you still return? What keeps Kauai in your heart?

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