**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.
More Bad Behavior in a State Park as Vandals Cut Through Fence & Gate – Put Up for Closure of Beach at Makena State Park
Posted on Jan 27, 2021(HONOLULU/Maui) – Authorities are searching for the person or people who cut through metal gate poles and fencing at the “entrance” to Pu‘u Ola‘i (Little Beach) at Makena State Park on Maui. The beach section was closed on Jan. 5 in an effort to stop Sunday evening large gatherings (drum circles) attended by hundreds of people.
One such gathering last fall was a so-called “super spreader” event for COVID-19, and the parties continued, nonetheless. The vandalism was discovered today and has been reported to the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) for investigation.
DLNR Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell said, “This behavior is not only destruction of government property, but whomever did this misses several important points. First, the barrier was put up because many people were simply ignoring current COVID-19 mandates at their own risk. Secondly, this kind of senseless vandalism is an assault on everyone who pays taxes in Hawai‘i. These materials and the labor to install these barriers are not cheap and now we’ll have to spend limited staff resources on putting the gate up again.”
Vandals likely used power tools to cut through the steel support posts. They discarded signs, poles and fencing into the ocean. Today, State Parks workers were able to retrieve most everything and believe they can weld the fencing and gate back together. “Even so, it’s maddening, frustrating, and disappointing, that individuals who feel entitled to enter a closed area make it hard on everyone,” Cottrell added.
Select state parks have been closed as a last option to help stop the spread of coronavirus in big gatherings. Last fall Polihale State Park on Kaua‘i was closed for several months after an estimated 1,000 people gathered there over the Labor Day holiday weekend. It has since re-opened.
Managers are exploring options for re-opening Pu‘u Ola‘i, but Cottrell says today’s vandalism is certainly going to delay this. “We understand many folks on Maui want Little Beach reopened, but in good conscience we cannot do so as long as some people continue to misbehave, break the law, and endanger the health and safety of those around them. These actions reduce our confidence that once we do re-open we’ll see compliant and responsible behavior.”
Anyone who has information on this crime can report it anonymously to DOCARE by calling 643-DLNR or via the free DLNRTip app.
