**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**
Monitor weather reports before your park visit.
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[STATE PARKS] — UPDATE 11/19/25: Upcoming Parking Fees at Select State Parks -Starting soon, Hawai'i State Parks will begin implementing parking fees for visitors at four high-use parks: [KAUA'I] Wailua River State Park, [O'AHU] Pu'u 'U'ala Ka'a State Wayside, [HAWAI'I] Kekaha Kai State Park, and Wailuku River State Park. These changes will support ongoing maintenance, cultural and natural resource protection, and improved visitor services. Additional details, including official start dates and rates, will be shared in the coming weeks.
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[KAUA'I] - 11/14/25: THE KALALAU TRAIL has REOPENED.
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[OʻAHU] – UPDATE 11/12/25: Kaʻena Point State Parks - Mokuleʻia Section – Kaʻena Point Vehicle Access Permits: We anticipate Ka’ena applications to open at the end of December 2025.
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[OʻAHU] – UPDATE 10/3/25: Sand Island State Recreation Area – Comfort stations are CLOSED until further notice due to a transformer issue impacting the pump. Portable toilets are available at each comfort station. Camping has continued to be CLOSED for construction from August 30th, 2025 to December 31, 2025.
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[O’AHU] - UPDATE 9/10/25: Mālaekahana State Recreation Area-Kahuku Section - State Parks is issuing a Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposals for parties interested in developing campgrounds. More info: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/announcements/malaekahana-state-recreation-area-rfq-rfp-2026/
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[MOLOKA’I] - UPDATE 8/29/25: Pala’au State Park Pavilion: Due to continued renovation work, the pavilion and camping is CLOSED until further notice.
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[KAUA’I] - 7/11/25: VISITORS TO WAIMEA CANYON AND KŌKEʻE STATE PARKS CAUTIONED TO EXPECT DELAYS AND LIMITED PARKING.
Beginning July 14, 2025, Waimea Canyon Lookout with be closed for construction of safety improvements through early December, 2025. This closure, in addition to several overlapping roadwork projects by both DOT-Highways and DLNR-State Parks, will cause delays, impact traffic patterns, and restrict overall parking capacity in these two popular parks through the end of the year. DOT work is continuing on Waimea Canyon Drive, while work on portions of Kōkeʻe Road from the Kalalau Lookout to Puʻu o Kila lookout will be starting the same week. Visitors can drive as far as the Kalalau Lookout, where improvements will also be initiated on July 17, with limited parking available. We urge patience and driving with care as these various improvements are ongoing. Local visitors are encouraged to enjoy these parks and lookouts on weekends, when most work will be suspended. Waimea Canyon Lookout will be closed for the duration of the project including weekends.
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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.
FLOOD REPAIRS BEGIN NEXT WEEK AT HĀʻENA STATE PARK
Posted on Jul 19, 2018Historic Flood Event Accelerates Long-Planned Improvements
Repairs and upgrades to make Hāʻena State Park more resilient to future floods, as well as to address public safety and accessibility issues, will begin next week. A replacement parking lot will be installed with a revised entry to accommodate a long-envisioned shuttle stop. This is an integral part of a desired transportation scheme to alleviate north shore traffic. Alan Carpenter, Assistant Administrator of the DLNR Division of State Parks explained, “Hazardous conditions such as rockfall along the highway exacerbated by the heavy rainfall will be mitigated by the installation of an alternate pedestrian path through the mauka edge of the loʻi system. We’ll also be repairing the two damaged historic cottages in the park. This will preserve them and create a base of operations for newly authorized park positions dedicated to Nāpali and Hāʻena management.”
The timeline for park repairs and construction is presently estimated to extend into November. Repairs of the damaged Kalalau Trail, consisting of washed-out trail sections, debris accumulation, and dense vegetation growth obscuring the route, will be initiated soon and it’s hoped to do this work in the same timeframe as the Hāʻena park repairs.
The State Department of Transportation (DOT) has granted State Parks permission to install a gate across Kūhiō Highway within the park to facilitate the park repairs, provide security for construction equipment and supplies, and provide for everyone’s safety. Following the installation of the gate, unauthorized vehicles will be prohibited but will be allowed to access the portion of the park between Cold Pond and the gate while construction work is ongoing.
Members of Hui Makaʻainana o Makana remain authorized to enter the park for maintenance purposes under an agreement with State Parks. DLNR Chair Suzanne Case remarked, “We are deeply appreciative of the hui’s kokua through its official curatorship, on-site presence and construction experience.”
State Parks is still in the process of evaluating and initiating repairs on sections of the Kalalau Trail that were seriously compromised and are extremely dangerous currently. There is no room for error and this is one of the reasons the trail remains closed. Additionally, due to the damage to the waterline and septic system, water may not be safe to drink and there are no functional bathrooms. Cottrell concluded, “Our capacity to manage and enforce rules in these parks has been diminished, as staff was redeployed to other parks to help with flood-related damage. We appreciate everyone’s kōkua and patience while we work hard to get these gems of our state park’s system repaired and safe.”
Hāʻena State Park, the adjacent Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park and the popular Kalalau Trail have been closed since the unprecedented flooding in mid-April. The same storm which caused multiple landslides along Kūhiō Highway, isolating communities beyond Hanalei, severely damaged park infrastructure at Hāʻena and caused significant impacts along the Kalalau Trail.
At Hāʻena, the concrete stream crossing at the parkʻs entrance had an 8-foot wide section washed out along with the waterline servicing the parkʻs comfort station, showers and drinking fountains. Virtually the entire overflow parking area which was surfaced with crushed coral washed away. The end of the highway at Kēʻē Beach supporting the county lifeguard stand was undermined and partially collapsed. Large sections of the beach were washed out and some large trees had their root systems affected. While the parkʻs restrooms survived relatively unscathed, the septic system and constructed wetland were also damaged.
