**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**
Monitor weather reports before you park
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[KAUA’I] - UPDATE 4/7/25: Kalalau Trail, Nāpali Coast SWP has REOPENED today. Ha’ena shuttle has RESUMED today.
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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 Tuesdays through Fridays beginning April 1 to April 11 and also Monday through Thursday April 14 to April 17. Partial Park Closures Hours with operating hours from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM will occur on Monday April 7 during this time, and will resume from April 21 onwards Monday through Friday, (except weekends and holidays). Normal Park Hours from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM will resume during Spring Break March 17 to March 28, 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. 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.
Coral Spawning Prompts Temporary Closures at Waialea Bay Marine Life Conservation District
Posted on May 25, 2021(KAILUA-KONA) – Two, half-day closures on May 28 and 29 at Waialea Bay Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD), will allow corals to spawn and produce new keiki.
The beach at Waialea is known locally as Beach 69 and the 35-acre bay is one of eleven MLCDs in Hawai‘i, which enjoy the highest level of protection for their invaluable marine resources.
The half-day closures at Waialea come on the heels of this month’s closures at Hawai‘i County’s Kahalu‘u Bay. During that spawning period, observers saw evidence of natural reproduction of cauliflower coral.
Christopher Teague, an aquatic biologist with the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), said, “The absence of swimmers and snorkelers in the water during spawning will help best ensure successful reproduction.” DAR staff and personnel from the DLNR Division of State Parks will be at Waialea both mornings to answer questions and to help educate people about coral spawning.
In advance of the spawning events at Kahalu‘u, Cindi Punihaole, the director of the Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center explained, “During these spawning events, corals emit reproductive materials known as gametes into the water column, which are carried by the tides to mix and generate planktonic coral larvae. When given the chance to settle undisturbed, the gametes have a greater chance of settling and growing in the bay.”
Lower numbers of people in MLCDs, like Waialea, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and greater awareness about the impacts of sunscreens on aquatic life, have enhanced the growth and recovery of coral life in West Hawai‘i.
Corals spawn during specific moon cycles in the spring. Brian Neilson, DAR Administrator said, “We want to give corals every chance possible to reproduce. Cauliflower coral, in particular, were hammered in both 2015 and 2019 by elevated ocean temperatures which led to mass bleaching events. This, along with all the other environmental stressors reef systems across the state currently face, makes it imperative that we all put up with a bit of inconvenience during spawning.”
Waialea Bay will reopen at noon this Friday and Saturday, but biologists are hoping people will delay their ocean activities for another day or so, as it can take up to 24-hours for corals to successfully reproduce and up to a week or more for new larvae to settle back onto the reef.
