Kauai’s recovery is moving forward, but conditions remain very uneven across the island. The state’s latest visitor guidance says some accommodations, restaurants, shops and activities are operating, while other businesses and heavily affected communities still need more time to recover.
One part of Kauai now appears likely to remain unavailable considerably longer. Some of the island’s most familiar visitor destinations, including Kokee and Waimea Canyon state parks, still have no reopening date. That includes the island’s most famous overlooks, trails and views of the Na Pali Coast.
The state has now gone far beyond saying those places are closed for storm cleanup. On Wednesday, the Department of Land and Natural Resources said all of its lands on Kauai will remain closed “into the foreseeable future,” while describing conditions at Kokee State Park as severe enough that clearing roads alone may take many more weeks.
That changes what we reported Saturday in our look at what’s working on Kauai and where visitors still can’t go. At that point, Kauai’s state parks were closed “for now.” We knew access was a big issue. We didn’t yet have the state’s assessment of what had happened deep inside Kokee, or any indication that restoring public access there could take much longer.
Kokee is nowhere near normal public access.
DLNR says people working inside Kokee have described the devastation as “unreal,” with significant treefall across interior unimproved roads. Crews initially had to check leased cabins and clear paths for people who couldn’t get out, although the state says anyone who wants to leave can do so now.
Trees are down across Kokee Road, Waimea Canyon Drive, and virtually all interior dirt roads serving park facilities and about 100 leased recreational cabins. One lane of the main road has been cleared, but only for critical emergency access and damage assessment, while many side roads remain largely impassable. Power and water have not been restored there, and cell service remains limited.
This isn’t a closure visitors can still drive up to and work around. DLNR enforcement officers are maintaining a 24-hour roadblock at the junction of Kokee Road and Waimea Canyon Road after the state received reports of people trying to reach the area despite the closure. Daytime access is being allowed only for people with legitimate business, with everyone else turned away.
For visitors, that removes much more than Kokee’s campground, which was already scheduled for a long construction shutdown before Lowell. Kokee State Park itself, its trails, Kalalau Lookout, and Pu’u O Kila Lookout are all unavailable while public access to the upper park remains closed.
Our recent comparison of the different ways to see Kauai’s Na Pali Coast called the drive to Kalalau Lookout the easiest option of all, especially for people who don’t want the cost or physical demands of a boat, helicopter, or hike. For now, that option is gone too.
Waimea Canyon isn’t a detour problem this time.
Waimea Canyon has been difficult to keep up with all year because of road reconstruction. When we wrote about the latest Waimea Canyon road closure in July, the important point was that the canyon remained accessible. Visitors could approach through Kekaha on Kokee Road and still reach Waimea Canyon Lookout, Kokee, and the upper scenic drive.
Other Kauai state parks remain closed too.
The Division of State Parks says every Kauai island park remains closed until further notice because of Hurricane Lowell damage, with assessments in some places delayed by blocked roads. All Kauai state-park camping is also unavailable for the foreseeable future.
Closures include Haena State Park, Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, and Polihale State Park.
Kee and the Kalalau Trail also remain unavailable, even as road access toward Haena continues to improve. On Thursday, HDOT said emergency repairs to Wainiha Bridge No. 3 were completed ahead of schedule, allowing its weight limit to increase from 5 tons to 15 tons. But Wainiha Bridges No. 1 and 2 remain local access only, and Haena State Park remains closed, so the improved road conditions have not yet restored visitor access to the park.
Polihale State Park is also part of the current islandwide shutdown, although its access problems didn’t begin with Lowell. We reported months ago that Polihale had already closed without a reopening date, so we’re not counting that as a new visitor experience lost due to the hurricane.
Wailua River State Park is also closed. We will be cautious about saying “the Wailua River is closed,” however, because we haven’t found a state notice saying all commercial or recreational use of the river itself has stopped. The state announcement is specifically about the park and other DLNR-managed lands.
The state still hasn’t posted reopening dates.
Hawaii State Parks says people who had state park reservations for days covered by storm closures will receive automatic refunds, minus nonrefundable service charges. The state still hasn’t published a park-by-park reopening schedule for Kokee, Waimea Canyon, Haena, Na Pali, Polihale, or Wailua River.
Even the state saying that Kokee road clearing “may require many more weeks” isn’t a reopening estimate because clearing the main road is just one part of the work, with interior roads, utilities, and other hazards still to be addressed before the public can return.
For people planning Kauai trips now.
As we’ve seen ourselves and reported in the continuing discussion over when visitors should return to Kauai, much of the island is recovering quickly while other areas are operating on a completely different timetable. Someone staying in an open resort and spending time around places that are functioning normally will have a very different trip from someone who came specifically for Waimea Canyon, Kokee, Kalalau, or Haena.
If one of those state parks is a major reason for an upcoming Kauai trip, we’d plan to check its status again closer to departure rather than make islandwide assumptions.
Visitors coming to Kauai soon should reconfirm that their accommodation is available and check which restaurants and activities are open. Remember, visiting Kauai right now requires doing homework and setting realistic expectations to avoid disappointment.
How much would losing Waimea Canyon, Kokee, or the Kalalau Trail change a Kauai trip you already have planned?
Photo Credit: © Beat of Hawaii.
By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.
Some of the most meaningful parts of Hawaii are the ones visitors walk right past without knowing they are there. We’ve spent nearly 20 years finding them firsthand for BOH as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, culture, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →
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