Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park facilities maintenance crew, Alvin Asato (left) and Nick Satkofski, install new energy-efficient amber lighting to Nāhuku. A project to replace the old electrical system and lighting was funded by entrance fee revenue, and improves visitor safety and enjoyment in the lava tube/NPS, Janice Wei.

National Park Service officials in Hawaii are thinking of boosting the cost of a pass that gets you into three parks: Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakalā national parks,  and Pu‘uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.

Park staff currently are taking public comment on a proposal to go from $30 to $50 for the Tri-Park Pass, an annual pass that allows visitors unlimited entry to the three fee-charging national parks in Hawai‘i.

The proposed Tri-Park Pass fee increase would start May 1, and ensure the Hawai‘i parks have the same pricing structure as other national parks with similar visitor amenities, a Park Service release said. 

The comment period is open now and ends March 2. You can submit comments online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/havo. Select the Proposed Tri-Park Pass Fee Increase for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park link. Then click on the link to the left “Open for Comment,” and click on the document name. You can then download the document. You can also comment from the same screen using the link near the top, “Comment on Document.” The comment link is only valid during the comment period. 

The public can also submit comments in writing, addressed to:

Superintendent, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
P.O. Box 52
Hawaii National Park, HI 96718

Comment cards are also available at Kīlauea Visitor Center seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

The current National Park Service fee program began in 1997 and allows parks to retain 80 percent of monies collected. The remaining 20 percent has gone into a fund to support park units where fees are not charged (six of the nine national park units in Hawai‘i do not charge entrance fees).

In 2017, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park collected $6,787,910 in fee revenue, and sold 13,413 Tri-Park Passes. Recent projects funded by fees include wheelchair-accessibility improvements  at Mauna Loa Lookout; a new summit eruption viewing area at Jaggar Museum; the replacement of the lighting system in Thurston Lava Tube; a new exhibit to protect and share ancient Hawaiian footprints preserved in the Ka‘ū Desert; and the restoration of the 1932 Administration Building (‘Ōhi‘a Wing) into a cultural museum. Entrance fees also fund ongoing projects to protect Hawaiian plants and animals, improve trails, provide visitor safety, and much more. 

Entrance fees are not charged to children under 16 years old, or holders of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Senior, Access, or Military passes. These passes are available at the park, or online.