Table of Contents
Waimea Canyon State Park entrance fee: under normal rules, visitors who are not Hawaiʻi residents pay $5 per person to enter and $10 per vehicle to park. Children aged 3 and under enter free, and Hawaiʻi residents enter and park free with a Hawaiʻi driver’s licence or Hawaiʻi ID. One parking ticket is valid in the parking lots of both Waimea Canyon State Park and Kōkeʻe State Park. The park is open daily during daylight hours, and no reservation is needed. Important for October 2026: after damage from Hurricane Lowell, only the Waimea Canyon Lookout reopens, from Saturday 24 October 2026. While the rest of the park is closed, the state collects only the parking fee ($10 per non-resident vehicle) and waives the $5 entry fee. The Puʻu Hinahina, Puʻu Ka Pele and Puʻu o Kila lookouts and all of Kōkeʻe State Park remain closed until further notice.
Last checked: 24 October 2026. The fees, hours and parking rule come from the official Waimea Canyon State Park and Kōkeʻe State Park pages of the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of State Parks, and from the official State Parks brochure. The October 2026 reopening and the waived entry fee come from the DLNR news release of 23 October 2026 and the DLNR Important Park Notices page. Nothing on this page comes from a personal visit. All prices are in US dollars; the rupee figures are only a guide.
Waimea Canyon right now (October 2026)
Hurricane Lowell hit Kauaʻi in early September 2026. On 16 September DLNR said trees had fallen across Waimea Canyon Drive, Kōkeʻe Road and almost every internal park road, that power and water were out, and that all DLNR lands on Kauaʻi would stay closed “into the foreseeable future”. Since then the state has reopened some Kauaʻi parks step by step. This is the status as published by DLNR on 23 October 2026:
| Place | Status (DLNR, 23 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|
| Waimea Canyon Lookout | Reopens Saturday 24 October 2026, daily during daylight hours, including holidays, unless there is an emergency closure. Parking fee only; entry fee waived. |
| Puʻu Hinahina Lookout | Closed (hazard clearing, repairs, utilities) |
| Puʻu Ka Pele Lookout | Closed |
| Puʻu o Kila Lookout | Closed |
| Rest of Waimea Canyon State Park | Closed until further notice (“extensive damage”) |
| Kōkeʻe State Park | Closed until further notice |
| Camping on Kauaʻi (including Kōkeʻe) | Closed. Separately, Kōkeʻe camping was already closed for campground improvements, with construction from May 2026 through spring 2027. |
The road: the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) traffic-alerts page still showed, as its latest Route 550 entry (2 October 2026), that the junction of Kōkeʻe Road and Waimea Canyon Drive was open but that Kōkeʻe Road beyond the junction was “open to local traffic only”. The DLNR reopening of the Waimea Canyon Lookout was announced later (23 October). We could not find an HDOT update that matches the DLNR announcement, so follow the road signs and any staff at the junction, and check both pages before you drive up.
Trails: on 19 September 2026 DLNR said the Nā Ala Hele trails in the Waimea valley section of Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve (Waimea Canyon Trail, Puʻu Ki-Waialae Trail, Kukui Trail and Koaiʻe Canyon) remained closed, with access only from the bottom of the canyon, and warned that many stream crossings had been destroyed. We found no later DLNR notice reopening them. The park’s own short trail, the Iliau Nature Loop, is part of the area that remains closed.
Earlier closures in the last 12 months: Hurricane Lowell is not the only disruption. DLNR’s Kōkeʻe State Park page says the Waimea Canyon Lookout closed from 14 July 2025 for construction of safety improvements, and that the Puʻu o Kila Lookout reopened on 14 January 2026. In 2026 HDOT also rebuilt sections of Waimea Canyon Drive: its notice of 12 June 2026 closed the road between Maʻule Road and Kōkeʻe Road on weekdays from 8 am to 11:30 pm from 22 June, with completion expected on 17 August and a detour via Kōkeʻe Road in Kekaha. We could not confirm from HDOT whether that work has fully finished, so check the HDOT Kauaʻi roadwork page before you go.
Waimea Canyon State Park fees (normal rates)
These are the standard fees listed by DLNR. During the October 2026 partial reopening, only the parking fee is being collected (see above).
| Who or what | Fee (USD) | Approx. in INR* |
|---|---|---|
| Entry, non-resident | $5 per person | about ₹475 |
| Entry, children 3 and under | Free | – |
| Entry, Hawaiʻi residents | Free with a Hawaiʻi driver’s licence or ID | – |
| Parking, non-resident (non-commercial vehicle) | $10 per vehicle | about ₹949 |
| Parking, Hawaiʻi residents | No charge with ID or driver’s licence | – |
| Commercial (PUC) vehicle, 1–7 passengers | $25 | about ₹2,374 |
| Commercial (PUC) vehicle, 8–25 passengers | $50 | about ₹4,747 |
| Commercial (PUC) vehicle, 26+ passengers | $90 | about ₹8,545 |
What a group pays (normal rates): two non-resident adults in one rental car pay $10 entry plus $10 parking, so $20 (about ₹1,899). A family of two adults and two children aged 4 or older pays $20 entry plus $10 parking, so $30 (about ₹2,848). Children aged 3 and under add nothing. On top of this, DLNR’s brochure says a processing fee is charged to cover credit-card payment; it does not give the amount.
What a group pays during the October 2026 partial reopening: one non-resident car pays the $10 parking fee only, however many people are inside, because the entry fee is waived while the rest of the park is closed (DLNR, 23 October 2026).
Where and how to pay
- No reservation: the official State Parks brochure lists Waimea Canyon and Kōkeʻe among the parks where “reservations are not required but entry and/or parking fees are charged”. Advance booking on gostateparks.hawaii.gov is needed only for the parks that require reservations (Hāʻena, Diamond Head, ʻĪao Valley and Waiʻānapanapa), not for Waimea Canyon.
- Card payment: the brochure says a processing fee is “charged to cover credit card payment”. DLNR’s park page does not describe the payment machines. Travel guides (waimeacanyon.org, Shaka Guide) and visitor reports say you pay at self-service kiosks in the paved parking lots, that the kiosks take cards only, and that you show the ticket on the dashboard. This is not stated on the DLNR page, so follow the signs in the lot.
- Pay once for both parks: DLNR says the parking ticket is valid in the Waimea Canyon and Kōkeʻe State Park lots, so you do not buy a second parking ticket when Kōkeʻe reopens.
- Residents: keep your Hawaiʻi driver’s licence or Hawaiʻi ID with you to show that you qualify for free entry and parking.
Waimea Canyon State Park hours
DLNR lists the hours as “Daily During Daylight Hours”. It does not publish a fixed opening or closing time, and there is no gate time on the official page. The 23 October 2026 reopening notice uses the same wording: the Waimea Canyon Lookout is open daily during daylight hours, including holidays, unless there is an emergency park closure.
Is Waimea Canyon a national park?
No. Waimea Canyon is a Hawaiʻi state park, run by the DLNR Division of State Parks. Waimea Canyon and Kōkeʻe were set up as public parks in 1952, according to the official State Parks brochure. Because it is not a US national park, the federal rules in our guide to the US national park fee for foreigners (the $100 non-resident fee and the America the Beautiful pass) are a separate system. DLNR’s fee listings do not mention federal passes, so do not expect a national park pass to cover the state’s entry or parking fee.
What the park is
DLNR describes Waimea Canyon State Park as overlooking “the deep, colorful gorge of Waimea Canyon”, with a scenic drive, canyon lookouts, a viewpoint of Niʻihau Island, wildland picnicking and trails. The two trails it lists for the park are the Iliau Nature Loop and the Kukui Trail. Next to the park are forest reserves with long, strenuous hikes into and out of the canyon. Kōkeʻe State Park, further up the same road, has its own trails (DLNR lists Alakaʻi Swamp, Awaʻawapuhi, Pihea and others) and is covered by the same parking ticket. According to the brochure, Waimea Canyon State Park is on Kōkeʻe Road (Highways 550 and 552), 11.1 miles north of Kekaha.
Red Dirt Waterfall and other stops on the road
Our Red Dirt Waterfall guide covers the small roadside falls along Highway 550. We found no DLNR fee listing for that roadside stop; the state-park fees on this page are charged in the paid parking lots of Waimea Canyon and Kōkeʻe State Parks. Check the road status above before driving up. For a full island plan, see our Kauai trip planning tips, and for budget beds see hostels in Kauai.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Waimea Canyon entrance fee?
Under normal rules, $5 per non-resident person plus $10 per non-resident vehicle for parking. During the partial reopening that starts on 24 October 2026, only the $10 parking fee is collected and the entry fee is waived (DLNR).
Is Waimea Canyon open now?
Partly. From 24 October 2026 only the Waimea Canyon Lookout is open, during daylight hours. The other lookouts, the rest of the park and Kōkeʻe State Park remain closed after Hurricane Lowell. Check the DLNR Important Park Notices page before you go.
Do Hawaiʻi residents pay?
No. Residents enter and park free with a Hawaiʻi driver’s licence or Hawaiʻi ID.
Do children pay?
Children aged 3 and under enter free. DLNR lists no other child rate, so children aged 4 and over appear to pay the standard $5 non-resident entry fee when it is being charged. Ask at the park if you are unsure.
Do I need a reservation for Waimea Canyon?
No. The official brochure lists Waimea Canyon and Kōkeʻe as parks where reservations are not required but fees are charged.
Is one parking ticket valid at Kōkeʻe State Park too?
Yes. DLNR says Waimea Canyon parking tickets are valid in the Waimea Canyon and Kōkeʻe State Park parking lots.
Sources (checked 24 October 2026)
- DLNR Division of State Parks, Waimea Canyon State Park (hours, entry fee, parking rates, parking ticket valid at Kōkeʻe).
- DLNR Division of State Parks, Kōkeʻe State Park (same fees; trails).
- DLNR news release, Waimea Canyon Lookout reopening October 24, 2026 (23 October 2026).
- DLNR Division of State Parks, Important Park Notices (Kauaʻi closures, Kōkeʻe camping).
- DLNR, Hawaiʻi State Parks brochure (no reservation; processing fee; location; 1952).
- DLNR news releases of 16 September 2026 and 19 September 2026 (Hurricane Lowell damage; trails).
- HDOT, Weather related traffic alerts (Route 550 entry of 2 October 2026).
- HDOT, Waimea Canyon Drive between Maʻule and Kōkeʻe Road to close daily for resurfacing (12 June 2026).
- Kauaʻi Now, Waimea Canyon Lookout reopening Saturday (23 October 2026).
- Payment-kiosk details (not official): waimeacanyon.org, Shaka Guide.
