Kōkeʻe State Park and Waimea Canyon State Park reopened at 6 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, ending a roughly two-month closure caused by Hurricane Lowell. The storm knocked down trees and power lines, blocked roads and damaged the parks’ water system, leaving behind a landscape that one state official called shocking to see.
According to Hawaii News Now, the parks had been closed for about two months because of the hurricane damage before reopening per a Department of Land and Natural Resources announcement. Several hiking trails have reopened, including the Nuʻalolo Trail, Waimea Canyon Trail, Iliau Nature Loop and Pihea Trail. The Awaʻawapuhi Trail is open only as far as its first mile marker.
Visitor Services Still Limited
Not everything is back to normal. Visitor services remain limited, and the same report notes that several trails, campgrounds and forestry areas are still closed, including the Kohua Ridge, Poʻomau Canyon, Kawaikoi Stream and Kuilau trails. The Kōkeʻe campground also remains closed while planned upgrades resume, the outlet reports.
Kōkeʻe Lodge’s restaurant and the Kōkeʻe Museum are expected to reopen next week at the earliest, per the same account. DLNR crews are still assessing damage across the parks and planning additional repairs, and officials estimate that about half of the historic recreational cabins sustained damage.
'Shocking' Scale Of Storm Damage
Alan Carpenter described the toll the storm took on the uplands, saying, “the amount of devastation to the forest landscape and our parks was shocking to see,” according to the report. The comment underscores just how widespread Hurricane Lowell’s impact was across Kauaʻi’s central mountains, where Kōkeʻe and Waimea Canyon sit.
The slow reopening fits a pattern seen across the island since September. Kauai Now reported that all state parks on the island were expected to stay closed to the public into the foreseeable future because of widespread Lowell damage. Weeks later, Hawaii News Now reported that DLNR had begun reopening select Kauaʻi lands, with some locations set to reopen at 6:30 a.m. that Monday, even as most DLNR-managed lands remained shut due to unmitigated storm damage.
That earlier phased reopening also came with its own restrictions elsewhere on the island. At Wailua River State Park, individual kayakers were barred from Fern Grotto, hiking past the trailhead was strictly prohibited, and access to Uluwehi Falls, also known as Secret Falls, remained closed in its entirety, the station reported at the time.
Other Kauaʻi Park Closures Continue
Kōkeʻe’s campground troubles predate the hurricane. Beat of Hawaii has reported that camping at Kōkeʻe State Park was separately closed starting in May 2026 for campground improvements, with construction expected to run through spring 2027. The same outlet reported that Polihale State Park and its camping area remain closed until further notice for mud and debris removal, with no reopening date given.
Access details for the newly reopened parks could still shift as crews continue assessing the damage. For now, visitors heading into Kauaʻi’s central uplands should expect a landscape still recovering, with some trails, the campground and several facilities not yet back in service.
