Camping in Hawaii

Camping rules worth knowing in Hawaii

The one campervan permit in the state park system

Waiʻānapanapa State Park, near the end of the Hāna Highway in east Maui, is the exception the camping page names. Camper vehicles, also called campervans, are allowed there with a valid campervan permit, only vehicles equipped for camping or sleeping are approved, and they go in designated sections of the park. Camping is 20 dollars a night per campsite for residents and 30 for non-residents, with cabins at 70 and 100. The park also gates day use: non-residents pay five dollars a person to enter and ten dollars a vehicle to park, choose a time slot to spread visitation across the day, and the park runs 7am to 6pm. Source 31

Forest reserve camping is by permit, at official campsites only

The Division of Forestry and Wildlife states that all persons, groups, organisations or associations wishing to camp within a forest reserve are required to obtain a camping permit, and that camping is only allowed at official campsites. The permits it issues cover certain sites managed as forest reserves and some sites along Nā Ala Hele trails, and applications go through the state’s online system or the district office on the island where the trip happens, never at the site itself. Source 39

Where the forest reserve campsites actually are

The division lists them by island. On Kauaʻi they sit in the Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve, which holds three campgrounds, the Nā Pali-Kona Forest Reserve, which holds four, and the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve, which holds a cabin. On Oʻahu they are in the Kuaokalā, Mokulēʻia, Pūpūkea, ʻEwa, Honolulu Watershed and Kuliʻouʻou forest reserves. Molokaʻi has the Molokaʻi Forest Reserve, and Hawaiʻi Island has Kapāpala, Hilo and Kohala. A printed copy of the permit must be carried while camping or lodging in any of them. Source 40

Kauaʻi County: sleep in a tent, and no vehicle camping at all

Kauai County limits permits to a maximum of six consecutive days, five at Lydgate, and limits campers to 60 camping days within a calendar year. It states that all campers must sleep in a tent, that mobile and vehicle camping is not allowed, and that vehicles are only allowed in the designated campground car park. Camping is free for Hawaii residents at every county campground except Lydgate and costs non-resident adults three dollars per person per day, with children exempt. Campgrounds can be entered from noon and must be vacated by 10am on closure days, several parks close weekly for maintenance, and the rules carry fines of up to 100 dollars a day. Source 52

Maui County: four nights, two vehicles, no open fires

The County of Maui requires a camping permit for all camping at designated campsites, displayed at all times at the tent and in the vehicles. Permits run to a maximum of four consecutive nights and are not issued to anyone for more than eight days a month. Each permit covers six campers, two vehicles and one licensed dog, and every camper must be named on it along with the tent and vehicle descriptions. Open campfires are prohibited in parks and campsites; a personal barbecue or hibachi is allowed on a non-flammable barrier in a safe location. Permitted campgrounds are Papalaua Wayside Beach Park on West Maui and One Aliʻi and Papohaku on Molokaʻi, each with a four-day maximum and a weekly maintenance closure. Source 53

The volcano has two drive-in campgrounds and both are first come

Nāmakanipaio sits at 4,000 feet, 31.5 miles south of Hilo on Highway 11, with drive-in sites at 15 dollars a night and a maximum stay of seven days; its rustic cabins take reservations but the drive-in sites do not. Kulanaokuaiki sits at 2,700 feet on Hilina Pali Road, at 10 dollars a night per site or five with a senior or access pass, for seven consecutive days, on a first-come basis. Pets are not allowed in that campground or anywhere on Hilina Pali Road. Neither campground appears in the federal recreation database this site builds from, because neither is booked through Recreation.gov. Source 11

County of Hawaiʻi camping is permitted, paid and bought in person or online

The County of Hawaiʻi Department of Parks and Recreation offers permitted camping at designated beach parks and permitted lodging at the Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area, and states that permits, which require a fee, are necessary in order to camp in county parks. They can be bought online or in person, and the in-person counters are spread around the island at the Aupuni Center in Hilo, the Kailua Park permit office in Kailua-Kona, and satellite offices at Waimea, Kapaʻau, Nāʻālehu and Pāhala. Call the satellite offices ahead, because staffing hours vary. Source 51

The full guide to overlanding Hawaii