Effective Friday, February 25, the County of Hawaiʻi issued an Emergency Rule announcing the closure of Waipio Valley Road to visitors as a precautionary safety measure and to further assess and mitigate the road’s conditions.

The decision is based on recommendations provided in a geotechnical assessment done on Waipio Valley Road, which outlines the immediate need to mitigate rockfall and address slope instability and erosion, for everyone’s safety.

To limit vehicular traffic, the road remains open to Waipio Valley residents, farmers, property owners and lease holders with agricultural businesses in the Valley only.

In a press release Ross Birch, Island of Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau executive director said,  “The Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau (IHVB) fully supports the County of Hawaiʻi’s decision to close Waipio Valley Road to visitors until further notice.  Understanding the community’s concerns about tourism’s impacts on this sacred and culturally significant place, we have not promoted traversing into the Valley for more than a decade now. We are distributing this update widely to our visitors and network of industry partners both here on-island and across the globe.”

The full County of Hawaii Emergency Rule can be accessed here.