‘Īao Valley State Monument to Close Again for Two Months

The Department of Land Natural Resources plans to close ʻĪao Valley State Monument again, this time for two months beginning on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017.  Parks officials say the temporary closure is expected to end on Dec. 16 or sooner as crews work to complete Phase 1 stabilization work following a historic flood that occurred on Sept. 13, 2016.

ʻĪao Valley. Photo 10.4.16 by Wendy Osher.

A soft-reopening of the park took place on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 following a nearly 11 month closure. At the time, parks officials said the opening was only temporary until additional required permits were finalized for additional work involving the stabilization of a slope just downhill from the garden area.

ʻĪao Valley State Monument remains open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017, until the next temporary closure goes into effect.  The county’s Kepaniwai Park below the Hawaiʻi Nature Center has been open since April, 2017, after a seven month closure.  The Kepaniwai hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

ʻĪao Valley State Monument is among the top attractions on Maui and sees hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The flash flood in 2016 caused millions of dollars of damage to man-made structures like railings and pedestrian bridges and created serious erosion, stream channel and land movement. The State Parks division obtained emergency restoration funding and began clean-up and restoration operations within weeks of the flood.

Parks officials have projected total project cost at $1,837,341.

The DLNR will hold a community workshop meeting to discuss continued improvements at ʻĪao Valley State Monument, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Wailuku Community Center.

Additional Information (courtesy Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources):

The workshop will have the following information stations:

• Slope stabilization work and proposals in the park.
• Planned park infrastructure and facility improvements.
• Development of the ʻĪao Valley Master Plan.
• Discussion of management issues regarding ‘Iao Valley State Monument.

The project team will be available to discuss the following:

• The status of Phase 1 slope stabilization completion.
• The proposal for Phase 2 of the slope stabilization and erosion control measure along slope areas along Wailuku River and Kinihapai Stream.
• State Parks’ proposal for current facility and infrastructure improvements to the park water system, comfort station, sewer and parking, access and security improvements; and discussion of future park improvements.
• Discussion of park management issues.

The ʻĪao Valley State Monument project team is comprised of staff from: DLNR Divisions of State Parks and Engineering; Wilson Okamoto Corporation; Geolabs Inc.; and Chris Hart Partners, Inc.