**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.
Polihale State Park to Reopen for Overnight Camping
Posted on Aug 1, 2022
(KAUAʻI) – Over two years after closing, due to COVID concerns and overuse and abuse issues, Polihale State Park will reopen to overnight camping beginning August 14, 2022. Reservations will be available online starting August 1 and may be made up to 90 days in advance.
Since December 2020, Kaua‘i’s popular beach and camping area has been restricted to day-use only. Camping without permits, driving on the beach and dunes, and careless behavior in general led to the indefinite closure of the park that July. Going forward, the DLNR Division of State Parks (DSP) expects overnight visitors will camp responsibly and take steps to re-establish positive stewardship of the area.
Stories of Hawaiian marine life rebounding in the absence of people were myriad during the pandemic. Since the 2020 shutdown of Polihale, two monk seal pups have been born in the park. One was just weeks ago and mom is still nursing her on the beach. Notably, these are the first two recorded monk seal puppings at Polihale since 1962.
Aside from its natural beauty, with spectacular cliffs and a stunning beach, the park is also a setting of cultural significance. The sand dunes, with some reaching upwards of 100 feet high, contain Hawaiian burial sites and are key habitat for critically endangered plant species Lau‘ehu and ‘Ohai. The DSP hopes a greater awareness of the value of Polihale can change mindsets and improve the overall conduct of park users. However, DSP has taken proactive steps, including installing additional signs, and placing numerous boulders as barriers to unauthorized vehicle pathways through the most sensitive areas of the dunes, between Poʻoahonu (Queenʻs Pond) and the developed camping areas.
In addition, DLNR has enlisted the services of PBR Hawaiʻi to kickstart a public outreach and consultation effort with the aim of planning future management and improvements at Polihale to enhance protection of resources and quality of experience. PBR Hawaiʻi is the firm which helped shepherd the Hāʻena State Park Master Plan through implementation. That plan has been lauded as a model for community-based management and for mitigating overtourism. The Polihale survey is an opportunity for the community to share inputs and concerns on a vision for the park and can be accessed at the DLNR website.
The remote location and sheer size, however, make enforcement of park rules at Polihale a challenge. Should old abuses return, camping could be shut down again. That’s where help from dedicated residents comes in, as even with posted rules and hours, it is a shared kuleana.
“We look forward to welcoming overnight campers back to Polihale, in limited numbers as is befitting the place,” said DSP Assistant Administrator Alan Carpenter. “The late summer timing of this reopening is deliberate, as holiday weekends have seen the heaviest use and most damage to Polihaleʻs fragile resources due to heavy use. By next summer, we intend to have additional protective measures in place, including a pair of new westside park interpretive technicians (Rangers) to patrol and educate park visitors.”
Mālama ka ‘aina includes staying alert to suspected illegal activity. Anyone who witnesses suspicious or illegal actions in a Hawai‘i State Park is asked to call the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) immediately at 643-DLNR (3567), or download (free of charge) the DLNR Tip app, which allows real-time reporting along with the submittal of photographs.
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RESOURCES
(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)
HD video – Polihale Lineal Descendants Plead for Good Behaviors (Feb. 9, 2021)
HD video – Polihale State Park (Dec. 2020)
Photographs – Polihale State Park (Dec. 2020)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/icw61br9tggdcpt/AAB3zi3yH12Qs3SnEyrZ-aHza?dl=0
To make online reservations:
https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/kauai/polihale-state-park/
To take the Polihale survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PolihaleSP
Media Contact:
Ryan Aguilar
Communications Specialist
Hawai’i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources
