Kealakekua Bay Permit Update

Update: 4/22/2021

You can still see the latest information regarding access to Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park and Ka’awaloa Flats directly from the DLNR here.

The short of it for people who want to visit the area or the Captain Cook monument is:

Transiting Kealakekua Bay on a kayak or stand up paddleboard is only allowed by taking a guided kayak tour with a permitted commercial vendor, which Kona Boys is.

Transiting the bay by individuals is allowed so long as the vessel has a valid permit (both private and commercial rental vessels). Permitted vessels are prohibited from landing at Ka’awaloa flat, or launching from Napo’opo’o wharf. Visitors DO NOT need to acquire permits when renting a kayak, but must confirm from the vessel owner that the vessel they rent possesses a valid permit for transiting the bay.

For residents who want to apply for their own vessel permit to transit the waters of Kealakekua Bay:

1. Download the application
2. Fill it out.
3. Save it.
4. E-mail the completed application form to: KBSHP.VESSEL.SUP@hawaii.gov

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Update: 1/1/2017

Now you can go here to download a permit.

Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park

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Original Post 5/29/2013

The State has made permits available with specific conditions for recreational vessels. We’re not sure what this means exactly, but want to keep everyone interested informed.

“State Parks has now begun issuing special use permits – with specific use conditions — for the non-commercial recreational use of crafts such as kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and one-person canoes in the waters of Kealakekua Bay. There is no cost to these permits. Many of these users have been contacting the department for months to ask when they could resume their personal recreational hobby to paddle in the bay.”

The State has a set of the following eight conditions for permitted vessels:

1. No launching or landing of vessels from the wharf at Napo‘opo‘o landing.
2. No landing or transporting of people to land or to traverse any of the land at Ka‘awaloa Flats.
3. No launching or deployment of any auxiliary vessels from the permitted vessel. Swimmers are allowed in the water but not to access Ka‘awaloa Flats.
4. Motorized vessels are to operate at a “no wake” speed.
5. There shall be no damage to any live coral, or tampering or interfering with other marine life and mammals. All legal distances are to be maintained from marine mammals.
6. If an emergency landing is required on land within KBSHP, the DLNR Hawai‘i State Park Office must be notified within 24 hours of the landing and report the nature of the emergency and the need to land.
7. These conditions may be subject to change due to resource management decisions.
8. Violation of any of these permit conditions may cause the revocation of the permit

Read the full press release from Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources here.