It’s a busy place, but these days, most folks are just stopping for a restroom break and perhaps to let the kids burn off a little steam at the almost-halfway point along Daniel K. Inouye Highway between Hilo and Kona.
That could all change by the end of the year, however, as a $10.5 million renovation project aims to transform the old cabins, bunkhouse and dining hall of Mauna Kea Recreation Area into a facility worthy of much longer stays.
On Tuesday morning, tour buses made frequent stops, discharging passengers to use the restrooms. Behind yellow caution tape, workers were busy stripping off windows and pulling old furnishings and plumbing systems out of the headquarters building.
“They’re going to get all new stuff,” said Gregory Rice, superintendent for the demolition company, Demo808. “They’re going to make it much nicer, and safer for the public.”
Demo808 started the demolition work Tuesday and plans to finish in four weeks.
The park, located 6,500 feet above sea level, includes five cabins. It provides the only restroom facilities along Saddle Road, which has seen a large increase in traffic following highway improvements.
“It’s a great pit stop,” said Andrea Shelton, watching as her youngest guests played on a piece of playground equipment. “And it’s great for the kids to run around.”
The cabins will be rented out once they’re remodeled. It’s not known how much rent will cost, but when the park was under state control, cabins rented for $55 a night for residents, $88 a night for nonresidents. The county will have to set fees and then have public hearings to incorporate them into the rules, county Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Jason Armstrong said Tuesday.
Dagan Bernstein, an instructor at Hawaii Preparatory Academy, watched his students whoop and holler as they climbed and swung on the rails and ladders of the playground equipment. He said the school rents cabins at Kalopa State Recreation Area for student trips, and he’d welcome the same at Mauna Kea.
“There’s just so much to do here, to teach about,” he said, saying conservation, wildlife and military activities from nearby Pohakuloa Training Area are among the topics of potential instruction.
“I’d love to bring kids up here for longer stays,” he said. “This is such a beautiful area.”
Steven Li, stopping his Hawaii Global Transportation tour bus at the park, said it’s a routine restroom break for his tour company. Passengers disembarking, however, seemed to have the wide, windswept panorama on their minds as much as the restroom, stopping to click photos with their phones and cameras.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said about the cabin renovations and upcoming rental availability.
The upgrade was originally estimated to cost $2.5 million, but the project was enlarged to include a potable water system and more amenities and because of increased construction costs, Armstrong said.
Consultants envision a paved, approximately 12-foot wide pathway that circumnavigates the park for walking, jogging and bicycling, with tie-ins to the roadways and park amenities. It would include fitness equipment stations placed strategically around its perimeter to create an exercise circuit.
The county also plans to increase parking areas and fence the perimeter of the park.
Hawaii County took over management of the 32-acre park from the state in 2014 in order to improve the facilities. Since then, the county has created a 3,700-square-foot playground on artificial turf, opened new restrooms, paved the parking area, created a picnic area, installed lighted flag poles, landscaped the area and hired security.
“This is as nice an outdoor playground as I’ve seen anywhere,” said Don Lightenburger, who with his wife, Nancy, is visiting from Colorado.
They stopped on their drive between Hilo and Kona to use the restroom and stretch their legs, while taking in the clear view of the mountain.
Armstrong said it’s one of the busiest playgrounds in the county’s park system.
“The playground is quite popular,” he said. “We think once we get improvements finished, it will make it a very desirable location.”
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources on Jan. 16 accepted for processing the county’s 218-page Conservation District use application to perform the work.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
