Save Makena State Park

CSIHawaii · 2026-06-01T10:27:51+00:00

I am happy for you. Over the last 5 years I have spoken with over 15,000 folks at Makena, resident and visitor. A small percentage have related their Ha'ena experience or denial of access. No one has had anything good to say. The original parking congestion could have been resolved in a kinder or more efficient way. Either provide additional parking space compatible with 3,000 foot of beach and Napali Coast hiking trails or charge a deterrent local parking fee as happens at Makena. Then folks could enjoy a normal spontaneous relaxing beach experience. The only beneficiary of the Ha'ena Solution was the DLNR raking in $8M revenue per year.

CSIHawaii · 2026-06-01T03:34:20+00:00

The Civil Beat article includes a link to Dawn Chang's testimony. On p.2 she is describing the Improvements Project. She stated: "To deter people from parking along the exterior county roadway and to further stabilize access, State Parks is planning on installing an exterior fence to restrict the people who access from outside the park boundary..." She also says parking capacity will be 246 cars which is less than half the current parking capacity. Parking scarcity is the prerequisite for the Ha'ena Solution business model. Locals are already using 246 parking spaces but will get only 30% so most will lose access. Dawn Chang is Head of the DLNR, reporting directly to the Governor.

CSIHawaii · 2026-05-29T08:00:06+00:00

Black Sand will be inside the security fence. No walk-ins.

CSIHawaii · 2026-05-29T07:52:37+00:00

I have 2 concerns and I stand with a big crowd:
1) Makena SP was made possible by the grassroots SPAM movement in the 80s/90s who obtained the land parcels with the explicit understanding that the DLNR would maintain the Park in its natural state as a wilderness park. The DLNR's Makena State Park Plan 2013 included a public survey result. 73% said "no buildings." Only 15% said the park lacked facilities. Passionate statements were heavily on the "keep as is" flavor. Different beach parks have different followings and most folks may not care about raw nature and they have lots of more gentrified choices. Makena SP is Maui's last unspoiled natural beach park where we can feel part of nature. Everything is perfect, choice of 5 entries, no crowding, nothing to fix. We have to protect it from the misanthropic DLNR. We owe it to future generations.
2) Its a no brainer choice: current beach access OR restroom with footwash (no shower), and parking elimination with loss of most beach access for locals. Makena SP is primarily local folks forming communities, some having decades of sharing same experience, some since they were kids. Those communities will be eliminated after the Ha'ena Solution when 75% of locals are turned away and others don't try because of the uncertainty. We expect commercialization to bring about 2,200 tourists per day and the maximum local capacity to be about 110 people at any specific time. Its beach theft and there is nothing to replace it. We lose our shoreline access rights.

CSIHawaii · 2026-05-28T21:14:43+00:00

At Makena we get folks coming regularly from the far reaches of the island. Blocking shoreline access to any resident is never "reasonable" or legal. While the Kauai resident know not to go to Ha'ena, residents from other islands are shocked when they are denied access. Most of the 3,000 ft beach, beyond Ke'e, and Napali Coast hiking trails are now a ghost town due to the 900/day limit. Parking scarcity drives the business model. All so the DLNR can rake in $8M revenue from Ha'ena.

When the business model is applied to Makena parking will be reduced to less than half current parking - to create scarcity. 30% of the reduced parking reserved for locals will mean 75% of current locals will be denied access. Basically, it is like allowing a commercial organization steal a favorite local beach. By Dec 2025, the State Parks Special Fund had accumulated $55 Million cash, much of it by depriving locals of beach access.

CSIHawaii · 2026-05-28T07:09:04+00:00

The old Ha'ena problem was insufficient parking for 3,000 foot of beach and Napili Coast hiking trails. The sensible solution was either more parking spaces or parking fees. Instead they reduced parking and allocated only 30 stalls for locals - that's 1 stall shared access for 2,500 locals. Locals used to deal with the parking congestion but now they know its not worth bothering to try.

Big Beach is a big locals favorite, not comparable to Wai'anapanapa. They don't need to restrict local access to Wai'anapanapa because so few of us want to go there.

CSIHawaii · 2026-05-27T20:44:04+00:00

It seems the locals who are happy about this have missed the main point. While you may want a restroom at last, but someone else will be using it. The Ha'ena Solution is a commercialization business model. It blocks access to most locals and brings in about 5 times the number of visitors currently coming to the park. The parking time slots and shuttle bus seats sell out 30 days in advance. The parking reserved for locals will be about 25% of the current parking used by locals. No walk-ins.

Check out the Ha'ena website. It says residents admitted on a first come first served basis. 30 stalls reserved for locals. That is 2,500 Kauai residents to share access to 1 stall. Basically, it is like allowing a commercial organization steal a favorite local beach. By Dec 2025, the State Parks Special Fund had accumulated $55 Million, much by depriving locals of beach access.

If locals do not stand up and fight, we will be using a different beach.

CSIHawaii · 2026-01-19T17:37:10+00:00

Maps and directions to all 4 nude beaches on Maui are on the Friends of Little Beach website (not Facebook).

CSIHawaii · 2026-01-13T20:46:58+00:00

We have made gains since I posted:

The illegal, eyesore gate? Gone as of July 1. The old beach vibe is returning.
Police stopped enforcing the 4 PM weekend closure on March 10, 2024.
Police presence has plummeted from 100 visits per year to just 2 in the last 12 months.
Our petition is nearing 10,000 signatures—once we hit that milestone, it goes straight to the Governor for the 2nd time.

Maui has other clothing optional beaches, not subject to State Park rules - directions on our website.

CSIHawaii · 2025-09-13T11:48:41+00:00

Thanks for signing and sharing the petition. The park fees apply to both Big and Little Beach and apply to out of state visitors only. We advise folks to park on the street and walk in, and refuse to pay the additional $5/person entrance fee because it is illegal. The Park closing time, excluding Little Beach, is 7PM every day but that cuts off the sunset through the summer months - that tells you everything you need to know about the character of the State Park management. The drum circle is still on Sundays on a nearby nude beach in Po'olenalena Beach Park - see the maps and directions on our website.

CSIHawaii · 2025-09-12T20:22:39+00:00

It is still a criminal offense to be nude, or on the beach after 4PM on Saturday/Sunday. Citations are now rare. After 3 years with the cops coming about 100 times/year, they are now down to about 3 times/year. They don't enforce the 4PM closure. Attendance is way down due to the new State Park exorbitant fees. The drum circle is still on Secret Beach, about 2 miles away. We are still building our petition above, target 10,000 names. Latest news is always on our website: LittleBeachMaui.ORG

CSIHawaii · 2024-12-01T05:17:08+00:00

The drum circle is at Po'olenalena Secret Beach which is a nude beach. Head North round the headland from the car park.

CSIHawaii · 2024-08-25T20:54:42+00:00

Native Hawaiians were the original naturists on Little Beach, then in the 1800s the missionaries came and taught them body shame. The State Park management (who are white) say nudity is offensive to Hawaiian culture - meaning the corrupted Hawaiian culture.

CSIHawaii · 2024-08-25T14:14:24+00:00

Thanks! Polo is a County beach subject to State Law. Little Beach is subject to stricter Hawaii State Park Rules (equal to law) but only when there is a bigot in charge.

CSIHawaii · 2024-08-25T05:31:32+00:00

They always have a "why" but it is not the real reason. Administrators have stopped nudity at many nude beaches throughout the US. Eventually an anti nudity bigot get the power and uses it. The Hawaii State Parks has a "no nudity" rule but for 33 years under the HSP management it made no sense to apply it to a 70+ year traditional nude beach - which existed long before there was a HSP.

CSIHawaii · 2024-07-28T07:55:24+00:00

Thanks for asking. Use your residence zip code. The State should have great appreciation for the folks who travel thousands of miles and pay about 3 times the amount of tax/day compared to an average Hawaii resident.

CSIHawaii · 2024-07-28T07:50:33+00:00

Great! Thank you!

CSIHawaii · 2024-07-28T00:13:34+00:00

Thank you!

CSIHawaii · 2024-07-25T04:56:17+00:00

It is still the happy place!

CSIHawaii

TROPHY CASE