Photo Credit: Tim DelaVega
hawaii wave

**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**

Monitor local surf and weather reports prior to your park visit.

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[KAUAʻI] UPDATED 6/17/24 – Polihale State Park: Queen's Pond access Road is CLOSED June 17-21 (m-f) for rock placement.  Pedestrian traffic should be aware of heavy equipment traversing through the area.  The park remains open - visitors should access via Cane Top access road and points beyond.

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[HAWAI’I] UPDATED 6/10/24 –'Akaka Falls State Park is now fully open.  There will be a brief closure later this month (June 24-28, m-f), for additional repair work.

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[KAUAʻI] UPDATED 6/18/24 –Kalalau Trail, Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park: Camping permits held back for local residents during summer, see Kalalau Trail site for more information.

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[KAUAʻI] UPDATED 6/18/24 – Kōkeʻe State Park: The gate to Puʻu O Kila Lookout will be closed to vehicular traffic due to road repairs beginning 3/19/24. The lookout will still be accessible by pedestrians, parking is available at Kalalau lookout.

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[HAWAI'I] UPDATED 6/18/24 -  West Hawaii State Parks to close early on the 4th of July at 5 PM. Parks effected are: Kekaha Kai SP—Mahai’ula section and Manini’owali (Kua Bay) section, Kiholo SPR, Hapuna Beach SRA and Waialea section

LAVA TREE STATE MONUMENT REOPENS AFTER SEVEN-MONTH-LONG CLOSURE

Posted on Dec 6, 2018

On Thursday, December 6, Lava Tree State Monument in the Puna District on Hawai‘i Island will open for the first time in more than seven months. The state park, within eyesight of the East Rift Zone’s Fissure 8, was closed shortly after Kīlauea began erupting in May.

The park, 2.7 miles southeast of Pahoa off Highway 132, features an excellent example of a forest of lava trees along a 0.7-mile loop trail. This unusual volcanic feature is the result of a previous lava flow that swept through the forest and left behind lava molds of the tree trunks. This year’s lava flows did get close to the park but never actually reached it.  However, earthquakes associated with the eruption damaged park facilities. That damage and Lava Tree’s proximity to active flows prompted the closure.

The following repairs were made prior to today’s reopening:

  • Repair to a damaged area of the walkway trail
  • Repair of comfort station caused by eruption
  • Repainting of the comfort station
  • Repair of the storage building doors

MacKenzie State Recreation Area on the coast had also been closed during and after the eruption, but reopened on Sept. 8th. The state’s Pohoiki Boat Ramp adjacent to Issac Hale County Park remains closed as a new black sand beach has blocked entrance to the ramp.  The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) is still in the process of determining whether the sand can be dredged or whether to relocate the ramp to a new location in lower Puna.

Anyone visiting state parks in the area is encouraged to use common-sense, to stay on trails and not walk onto new lava flows as they can be unstable and break away.