Viewing site at Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge to open public at end of April

The long-awaited Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge Viewpoint site is set to open to the public on April 30.

The new viewpoint site will be the primary location for the public to visit the Hanalei NWR, where the public can safely view the many sensitive endangered species and habitats in the valley from a distance.

The site will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

The viewpoint is a 5.4-acre parcel located along Kūhiō Highway in Princeville that includes two lookouts featuring views of the greater Hanalei Valley and Bay, the wildlife refuge and Halele‘a Forest Reserve.

The site also includes parking for 25 cars, short-term parking for a maximum of three small buses, interpretive displays, vault toilets and native plantings that will provide residents and visitors with opportunities to learn about the natural and cultural history of the Hanalei Valley and Hanalei NWR.

Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1972, is the oldest of Kaua‘i’s three refuges that are part of the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex.  Hanalei NWR was established under the Endangered Species Act to recover threatened and endangered species, including the endangered koloa or (Hawaiian duck, Anas wyvilliana), ‘alae ke‘oke‘o (Hawaiian coot, Fulica alai), ‘alae ‘ula (Hawaiian moorhen, Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis), ae‘o (Hawaiian stilt, Himantopus mexicanus) and nēnē (Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, now listed as Threatened). 

The 917-acre refuge was purchased by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from the Eagle County Development Corporation with Land and Water Conservation Funds. The Refuge is located within a proposed State Historic and Conservation District and is also home to the Haraguchi Rice Mill which is on the National Register of Historic Places.