**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**
Monitor weather reports before your park visit
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[KAUA’I] - UPDATE 4/12/25: Kalalau Trail, Nāpali Coast SWP has REOPENED. Ha’ena shuttle has RESUMED.
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[MAUI] - UPDATE 4/10/25: Makena State Park's northern Black Sand Beach Access Road is CLOSED to vehicular access due to ponding from heavy rains. The road is open to pedestrian access. The 2 southern roads remain open.
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[MOLOKA’I] - UPDATE 3/24/25: Pala’au State Park Pavilion: Due to demolition and renovation work, the pavilion will be closed from March 25 to May 31.
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[KAUAʻI] - UPDATE 3/21/25: Pā‘ula‘ula State Historic Site - Due to construction improvements, the park closure will begin starting March 24 until further notice.
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[OʻAHU] - UPDATE 3/18/25: Mauna ʻAla, Royal Mausoleum State Monument will be undergoing improvements that may temporarily prevent vehicular access. Please check the Royal Mausoleum State Monument website for updates.
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[OʻAHU] UPDATED 3/18/25 – Diamond Head State Monument (DHSM): Full Park Closures will occur Monday through Thursday April 14 to April 17. Partial Park Closures Hours with operating hours from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM will resume from April 21 onwards Monday through Friday, (except holidays). Normal Park Hours from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM will resume on the Good Friday Holiday on April 18, and Weekends. During Partial Park Closures Hours from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the last reservation time slot for Parking and Entry and Entry Only will be 12:00 p.m. If you reserved at 12:00 p.m., you must enter the Park no later than 12:30 p.m. or you will be denied entry.
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The project began January 6, 2025, and will run to July 25, 2025, or upon completion of the rock fall mitigation construction project at the Kahala Tunnel. Please check back for updates.
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[MAUI] UPDATE 3/4/25 - Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area: Beginning April 1, 2025 through April 30, 2025 the park, cabin campgrounds and access road to Polipoli Forest Reserve will be closed due to tree mitigation work.
42 Illegal Camps Cleaned-Up At Sand Island State Recreation Area: Despite Offers for Help – None Accepted
Posted on Nov 6, 2020(HONOLULU) – Hidden behind a thick barrier of kiawe trees, on beaches facing the airport, doz-ens of homeless people set up their tents and hand-fashioned homes. They are doing this on state-owned land at the Sand Island State Recreation Area SRA). Scattered across the beach and near the trees are personal belongings, the frames, wheels and components of many bicy-cles, mopeds, cooking & eating utensils, bottles and cans…pretty much everything one would associate with living off the land.
The problem is, camping at Sand Island is against the law. This week a team from DLNR, from the Hawai‘i Dept. of Transportation’s (HDOT) clean-up contractor, and officers with the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) cleared out people and camps from 42 camps that had been posted with warning notices a week earlier.
Pua Aiu, DLNR’s homeless coordinator said, “This is a public beach and we’ve been getting complaints that dogs are chasing people and squatters are yelling at people. Our goal is to get everyone out of here, so it becomes more manageable for the DLNR Division of State Parks. The problem is once we clear them, they move to adjoining property and then come right back in and re-establish their camps.”
Clean-up of Sand Island SRA, Nov. 6, 2020
Without constant law enforcement presence, it’s impossible to keep the recreation area clear of camps continuously. While several of the people who were moved out this week were cited for abandoned property, the fact that trespassing is not a criminal violation makes it difficult to keep people out.
The Hawai‘i State Legislature has appropriated funding for trash removal and property storage. This funding goes through HDOT which provides debris removal and storage for all state agen-cies. Cyril Brighter with contractor HTM said during this week’s Sand Island clean-up they hauled away 40 large containers of trash. He added, “We did take out a lot of stuff. Among the rubbish are clearly other people’s missing items, like bikes, mopeds, motorcycles, books, tools, welding equipment…you name it they had it.”
The state employs “compassionate enforcement” in dealing with people at illegal camps. Prior to the clean-up DLNR works with the Governor’s Coordinator on Homelessness, and requests outreach workers to visit the site and offer shelter and other services to all the people. Many are
already working with outreach workers on the possibility of permanent housing. On the day of the clean-up, Aiu, the DLNR homeless coordinator, made multiple calls to refer individuals re-questing assistance to shelters or other service providers. Despite these efforts, in the end, most people decide that they “aren’t ready yet” and decline shelter services.
“It’s frustrating because most people on DLNR lands refuse any help or services. We realize in Hawai‘i it’s tough for many people to afford housing. Some people make a conscience decision that they just want to camp,” she said.
After getting a notice to vacate a week in advance of the cleanup and after items have been col-lected the state will store personal items for 30 days.
