Places on Oahu: He’eia State Park

Basic Information

• Name: He’eia State Park
• Founded: 1976
• Hours: Open every day from 7AM to Sunset
• Cost: Free
• More Information: He’eia State Park website

Directions

The easiest way to get to He’eia State Park from Honolulu is to take the Pali Highway across the Ko’olau Range.  On the other side of the mountains make a left on to the Kamehameha Highway (Highway 83).  This highway will go through downtown Kaneohe and then turn into Highway 830.  Just continue straight on this road until it begins to parallel Kane’ohe Bay and eventually reaches He’eia State Park.

Parking

At He’eia State Park there is a large parking lot that on weekends, especially when events are held here, can get quite full.  However, every time I have come to the park I have been able to find parking.

Hawaiian Meaning

According to the book, “Place Names of Hawaii” the word “He’eia” translates to “washed away”.  The name comes from an old Hawaiian legend about a tsunami that struck and stopped an attack by warriors from Leeward Oahu against the people living on the Windward side of the island.

Narrative

A really nice part of the Windward Oahu city of Kaneohe to visit is He’eia State Park:

This part of Kaneohe had long been used for agriculture, but in the 1960’s the peninsula that He’eia State Park is located on, faced development.  Local residents were able to resist the development and in 1976 the peninsula became an official state park.

What is unusual about this state park is that the state of Hawaii doesn’t actually run it.  Park operations have instead been outsourced to the educational non-profit group, Kama’aina Kids.  The group Kama’aina Kids runs various day care and early education centers around Oahu.  It seems strange that they are running a state park, but they are.  One of the biggest operations in the park is a large banquet hall that seems to have a major event going on every weekend:

The other major operation that Kama’aina Kids runs at the state park is a kayak rental business which is a very popular location to rent kayaks from to explore Kaneohe Bay:

I like to bring friends and family visiting me from the mainland to He’eia State Park because of the nice views looking out over Kaneohe Bay.  The various views can be seen by following a short walking path around the park:

One of sights to see when walking along the path is a small fishing shrine:

This type of fishing shrine can be seen all around Oahu.  Here is a closer look at the shrine:

From the trail Coconut Island which was in an opening scene from Gilligan’s Island can be seen:

The Marine Corps based located on the Mokapu Peninsula can be seen as well:

The famous Kaneohe Sandbar can be seen from the park:

To the north of the park I could see the impressive peak Pu’u Kanehoalani:

Next to Pu’u Kanehoalani I could also see the small islet commonly known as “Chinaman’s Hat“:

A paddle out to Chinaman’s Hat is one of the most popular kayak trips on Oahu:

Kayak Routes on Oahu: Chinaman’s Hat (Mokoli’i Islet)

As beautiful as all the views are, the most notable view from the park is of the He’eia Fishpond:

The fishpond was built by ancient Hawaiians to catch fish:

The fishpond is made of lava rocks and has sluice gates that are opened to allow fish in and then closed to trap them:

These fishponds were an ingenious method by the early Hawaiian people to create a stable fish population to feed people in the area.  Considering the easy access to food in the fishponds, guard shacks were built around it to protect the fish inside of it from thieves or animal predators:

The fishponds were greatly degraded in past decades, but in recent years activist groups have rebuilt many of the fishponds to help promote understanding and appreciation of Hawaiian culture:

For anyone thinking about walking on the wall, please do not do that because there are signs warning against such activity:

Conclusion

He’eia State Park is a popular area for locals to hold major events like birthday parties, but for people visiting Oahu I recommend going here to take in views of Kaneohe Bay.  I further recommend combining a visit to He’eia State Park with a visit to my favorite park on Oahu, the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens.  A visit to the gardens provides great views of the pali cliffs of the Ko’olau Range while stopping by He’eia State Park provides great views of Kaneohe Bay.  The more adventurous can even rent a kayak from the park and paddle out to the very popular Kaneohe Sandbar which is one of the funnest places to visit on Oahu.