Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park lease extended through 2026

Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park will stay open for now, but the extension only pushes back a larger question: who controls one of Kaū’s most visited shoreline sites, and what kind of public access will survive after September 2026. Hawaii County and Black Sand Beach LLC agreed to extend the lease until Sept. 1, 2026, buying time as they continue negotiating the future of the park and the land around it.

The county has leased the site since 1954, and the current lease, executed in 1998 for $1, covers about 6.8 acres that include parking, pavilions, bathrooms and campgrounds. That arrangement matters because it underpins daily use at a place that serves far more than passing visitors. Mayor Kimo Alameda said the park has long hosted birthdays, graduations, family reunions, celebrations of life and annual community events.

Black Sand Beach LLC said it remains committed to preserving and enhancing Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park as a cultural, recreational and community asset. The county said the extension keeps the park open while negotiations continue, but it does not settle the longer-term issue of whether the public will keep the same level of access that Kaū residents have relied on for generations.

Hawaii County Parks & Recreation lists the park at 96-876 Government Road in Nāālehu and notes ADA access, BBQ pits and grills, camping, a pavilion and restrooms. County materials say the beach park allows camping, fishing, hiking and pavilion gatherings, and that it is heavily used by visitors and the community. The county’s pavilion rental system uses first-come, first-served permits obtained in advance, a sign that the site is managed as an active public space, not just a scenic pullout.

The lease extension lands amid wider scrutiny of Punaluu’s future. County planning records describe a Black Sand Beach LLC special management area proposal for roughly 225 residential and short-stay units, a village and wellness center, retail uses, rehabilitation and use of golf courses, and dedication of part of the coastline as a conservation area. The proposed development site spans about 147 acres within a larger 434-acre project area.

That plan drew heavy opposition in 2024, when a Windward Planning Commission hearing stretched more than eight hours under overwhelming public testimony. Punaluu has also been described in reporting and advocacy materials as biologically rich and culturally revered, with endangered hawksbill and threatened green sea turtles and Native Hawaiian cultural sites. A 2025 report said foreclosure action against Black Sand Beach LLC paused resort-related plans near Punaluu.

For Kaū, the lease extension is not just paperwork. It is the latest checkpoint in a longer fight over shoreline access, cultural protection and whether a public beach park that anchors life in Nāālehu and the surrounding district will remain open on terms the community can live with.