Manukā State Wayside
Photo Credit: Sean Newsome

**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**

Monitor weather reports before your park visit.

[ALL ISLANDS] UPDATE – 12/12/25: Camping - Reservations for February 1, 2026 and beyond available at https://explore.ehawaii.gov, please create an account on Explore Outdoor Hawaiʻi to make a camping reservation.

Manukā State Wayside

Hours Daily During Daylight Hours
Entrance Fee None
Trail Names
Camping None
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Description

A rest stop with an opportunity to picnic among a collection of native and introduced trees. A 2-mile nature hike through the adjacent Manukā Natural Area Reserve offers an experience in Hawaiian natural history.

Manukā Natural Area Reserve

On the flank of leeward Mauna Loa in South Kona, Manukā Natural Area Reserve is a 25,ooo-acre reserve encompassing a wide range of habitats. These include subalpine shrublands and forests, mesic montane kipuka forests, wet montane forests, lowland mesic forests and lowland dry forests.

Recent lava flows add a variety of pioneer vegetation types, as well as uncharacterized and unsurveyed lava tubes. Concentrations of the Hawaiian hoary bat occur in the area. A rare lowland grassland and anchialine pools are included as well.

Natural Communities: 17 total, 3 rare
Native Plants: 187 total taxa, 10 rare
Native Animals: 7 total taxa, 3 rare