Free Weekend Admission, Historic Anniversary Mark NP Week

An iʻiwi feeds on ʻōhiʻa lehua blossom nectar in the Kīpahulu Biological Reserve. PC: Haleakalā National Park.

Haleakalā National Park offers free weekend admission and special events during National Park Week, April 15-23, 2017.

The park will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Kīpahulu Expedition during this period. On Monday, April 17, 2017 at 1 p.m., take part in the “Kīpahulu Expedition Talk Story” with Dr. Ken Kaneshiro, who was on the original expedition, and Dr. Samuel M. ‘Ohukani‘ōhi‘a Gon, III, from The Nature Conservancy.

April 22 and 23, 2017 will be Junior Ranger Weekend, with family activities in both districts. In addition, walks, talks, trivia, and demonstrations will be offered in both districts throughout the week. Activity times and locations will be posted at all visitor centers.

Entrance fees will be waived on weekends on the specified days; however, visitors wishing to viewing sunrise between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. must still make an online sunrise reservation and pay the $1.50 per car reservation fee at recreation.gov. Online sunrise reservations are available until 4 p.m. the day before a planned sunrise visit.

Below is a list of activities at Haleakalā NP during National Park Week:

Lush vegetation in the Kīpahulu Biological Reserve, one of the few intact rain forests left in Hawaiʻi. The remote high elevation reserve is within the boundaries of Haleakalā NP and access is via scientific research permit only. PC: Haleakalā NP

Kīpahulu District

Kīpahulu Expedition “Talk Story”

On Monday, April 17, 2017 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Dr. Ken Kaneshiro, who participated in the 1967 expedition, Dr. Sam Gon, and other Nature Conservancy and park staff will talk story with visitors about the historic expedition and the valley then and now. The Talk Story event will take place near the Kīpahulu Visitor Center.

The 1967 Kīpahulu Expedition, a collaboration between The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, US Geological Survey, Bishop Museum, and the University of Hawaiʻi, was the upper Kīpahulu Valley’s first large scale, documented scientific exploration. Scientists were led by local guides throughout the remote rainforest.

The expedition documented numerous bird, plant, and insect species, including many new to science. The remote valley is one of the last intact native rainforests in Hawaiʻi. It is protected within Haleakalā National Park as the Kīpahulu Biological Reserve.

Hana Noʻeau (Honoring Native Hawaiian Traditions)

April 15-23, 2017 Daily, 1 to 3 p.m.

Staff and partners will offer cultural demonstrations near the visitor center. Stop by and learn coconut weaving, lei making, lauhala weaving, kalo pounding, or how to catch fish with a throw net.

Summit District

Daily walks, talks, or other activities will be offered daily. Activity times and locations will be posted at all visitor centers. The following introductory hikes will also be offered:

Monday, April 17, 2017 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.: Geology 101, at Haleakalā Visitor Center, on the crater rim.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017 10 a.m.: Birds 101. Meet at Hosmer Grove Nature Trail. (Take the first left after the summit entrance station. The trail is at the end of this side road).

Ranger Bolly Helekahi swears in a Junior Ranger. Photo courtesy Haleakalā National Park.

Both Districts

Junior Ranger Weekend

Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, 2017

To celebrate Earth Day, earn a junior ranger badge, and learn how to be good caretakers of the park, kids and families can take part in activities about volcanoes, endangered species, and Hawaiian cultural traditions.

Saturday, April 22, 2017: Kīpahulu District, by the visitor center, 1 to 3 p.m.

Sunday, April 23, 2017: Summit District, Headquarters Visitor Center (7,000 ft. elevation), 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“This year’s National Park Week theme is “Parks 101,” said Chief of Interpretation Polly Angelakis. “We hope families will take advantage of our fee free weekends, especially Junior Ranger Weekend. Also, on Monday, April 17, we’ll celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kīpahulu Expedition. This important expedition was the first of its kind in the remote Kīpahulu rainforest and eventually led to this ecosystem and its species being protected.”