Who Really Keeps Your $20 Hawaii Waterfall Fee

We now know how much Hawaii’s private parking operators keep when visitors pay to enter four state parks and scenic stops. The answer, found in permits approved by the Land Board on November 14, 2025, is far less than many visitors probably assume.

Two nonresident adults arriving in one vehicle pay $20: $10 for parking plus $5 per person. The payment goes through a private parking operator, but the permit gives the company only a small fraction of the net operating income remaining after expenses are deducted.

That same structure applies at three other Hawaii parks. The state keeps between 93.1% and 99% of the net operating income, while the operators receive between 1% and 6.9%.

There is one significant catch. Those percentages are calculated after operating expenses, and the permits do not disclose what those expenses are.

The state keeps nearly all of what remains.

The permits split what is called net operating income, which is the money left after the parking company covers its own costs. That distinction is significant because the operator’s expenses come first, and only the remainder is divided between the company and the state.

On that remainder, the state’s share is large, and the operator’s is small. The pattern is consistent across all four permits, with only the operator’s slice changing from park to park.

At Wailua River State Park on Kauai, State Parks receives 99%, and Republic Parking Northwest receives 1%. At Wailuku River State Park on Hawaii Island, the state receives 95.3%, and Diamond Parking receives 4.7%.

At Puu Ualakaa State Wayside on Oahu, the state receives 93.5%, and Pro Park receives 6.5%. At Kekaha Kai State Park on Hawaii Island, the state receives 93.1%, and Diamond Parking receives 6.9%, the largest operator share among the four permits.

Those figures look lopsided in the state’s favor, and that’s true for the amount being divided. What they do not show is how much came off the top first, before there was anything left to split.

So who checks the math?

The percentage split applies to net operating income after deducting the parking company’s expenses. That raises an obvious question: what documentation does State Parks receive, and who verifies the costs taken out before the remainder is divided?

The four board submittals don’t answer that question. The attached permit forms identify no specific expense-reporting standard, independent audit requirement, or public disclosure provision covering the operator’s costs.

The missing calculation could materially affect what the percentages actually mean. Running a paid parking operation incurs costs for staffing, equipment, payment processing, and administration, and each expense reduces the amount left to divide with the state.

A reader looking through these permits can’t determine what was reported as expenses, what records supported those deductions, or whether anyone independently reviewed them. The public permit record shows the percentage split but not the process used to verify the actual amount being split.

That does not definitively establish that no review occurs. State Parks may require invoices, monthly statements or other documentation that was not included in the public Land Board packets.

The net income model itself is not new. Hawaii used a related structure at Haena State Park on Kauai in 2021, although that community-management agreement worked differently from these parking permits.

The Haena permit provided a 90%/10 % split of net operating income only when the community group was not operating the shuttle. When shuttle service was being provided, DLNR said State Parks would receive all entry fees as rent.

Kauai received the best split of the four.

Only two companies submitted proposals to operate the Wailua River system. Republic Parking Northwest offered State Parks the highest percentage of net operating income and received the permit.

That proposal gave Kauai the strongest split among these four locations. State Parks receives 99% of the net operating income, while Republic Parking Northwest receives 1%.

The Wailua permit covers far more than two waterfall overlooks. It includes Wailua Falls, Opaekaa Falls, Fern Grotto, Wailua Marina, the Wailua River Valley, and important cultural sites including the Wailua Complex of Heiau. The permit describes the park as more than 1,000 acres managed across seven separate sections.

The permits are also more temporary than the growing parking system might suggest. Each operates on a month-to-month basis and is authorized for a maximum term of one year.

The Land Board can revoke a permit for any reason with at least 30 days’ written notice. The state also retains the authority to increase or decrease the rent with 30 business days’ notice.

A small group now operates much of the system.

Republic Parking Northwest, Diamond Parking, and Pro Park appear repeatedly across Hawaii’s expanding state park fee system. The permits show that each company already manages parking or visitor services at other state parks.

Republic Parking provides similar services at Kokee and Waimea Canyon, Iao Valley, Waianapanapa, and Hapuna Beach. Diamond Parking operates at Akaka Falls, Makena Beach, and Nuuanu Pali, while Pro Park manages the commercial transport and visitor parking operation at Diamond Head.

That concentration of vendors doesn’t mean those companies control the fees or park policy. State Parks selects the operators, establishes the fee structure, and directs its share into the State Parks Special Fund.

The Kekaha Kai permit also suggests where the system could expand next. It says the Mahaiula section is not currently targeted for fee collection because relatively few nonresidents use it, but parking and entrance management could be extended there if visitor use increases.

The fee still needs to match the visitor stop.

The permits answer one question but not another, the larger value one. A visitor may feel differently about helping pay for a major Hawaii state park than paying a similar amount for a brief roadside waterfall photo stop.

We know the locations well. Wailua Falls and Opaekaa Falls are beautiful and culturally significant, but many visits amount to parking, walking a short distance to an overlook, and leaving within minutes.

That does not mean the stops should be free or that managing them has no cost. It does mean visitors will continue asking whether the price they pay reflects what each location actually offers.

The permits describe the fees as a way to manage growing visitation, support park operations, protect resources, and improve facilities. Hawaii residents continue to receive free parking and entry under the current state fee structure.

What the permits simply don’t indicate is how much is spent before the remainder is split. That single missing figure is the difference between knowing the operators keep little and knowing exactly where each $20 visitor’s pay actually goes.

Does an operator’s share of 1% to 6.9% feel fair if the state receives the rest of the “net” operating income? Should Hawaii publish its operating expenses and explain how those costs are verified, so visitors can see how much of their payments actually reaches the intended parks?

Subscribe to Beat of Hawaii for our continuing look at Hawaii’s changing access fees, parking rules and visitor costs before you reach the gate.

By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.

Lead Photo Credit: © Beat of Hawaii, Wailua Falls from the helicopter.