Haleakalā: No Water or Restrooms at Kīpahulu, Pack Your Own
On Haleakalā's south coast, the Kīpahulu District has lost its restrooms and water, so come prepared with your own drinking water.
By Erika Müller,
A small logistics detail can reshape a whole day of sightseeing, and that's exactly what's happening right now at Haleakalā. If your route runs through Kīpahulu, the park's coastal district at the end of the famous Road to Hāna, take a few minutes to rethink your plan before you set out.
The reason fits in a single line. The restrooms and water stations in the Kīpahulu District are currently out of service. Emergency repairs are underway, and the park's crews consider them critical, with no reopening date for now. So treat this as the situation until further notice, until the work wraps up.
In practice, this doesn't stop you from visiting, but it does mean planning ahead. None of the drinking-water taps on site are running, and that holds true whether you're stopping for a few hours or spending a night in a tent. Here's our advice. Bring all the water you'll need for your entire stay, and count generously in the warm, humid climate of this side of the mountain. Better to head out with a full bottle than to hunt for a refill point that doesn't exist.
One note for campers. Vault toilets are still available at Kīpahulu Campground. It's the only restroom option left in the district, enough to get by for anyone sleeping on site, but still without running water.
The rest of the Kīpahulu experience hasn't changed. The pools, the lush greenery, and the trails are every bit as rewarding. It's just the creature comforts that take a step back while the work is underway. To place this district within the wider park and plan the rest of your trip, keep the Haleakalā park guide handy; it gathers our practical bearings for both sides of the mountain. A little preparation, and this closure becomes a minor formality.