The Mākena Beach That Changed This Year Isn't the One That Got the Hearings
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
Most of the public argument about the Mākena coast this summer was about Big Beach. It ran through a deferral in June, a revised plan in July and a 6–1 Maui Planning Commission vote. As of mid-October, nothing at Oneloa has been built. The beach looks the way it did before the first hearing.
The shoreline that has actually changed is up the coast at Mākena Landing. There, scuba, snorkel, paddleboard and kayak operators moved in after the County changed its permitting policy at other South Maui beach parks, according to Maui Now. The Landing never got a hearing. What it got instead is a volunteer with a sample bottle every three weeks.
Here's what a Saturday at Mākena State Park looks like today, next to what the commission approved. The comparison draws on Maui Now's June reporting and the July approval coverage.
| On the ground now | Approved in July 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Restrooms | Five porta-potties at the beach entrance | Two comfort stations, one beside each parking lot |
| Showers | None | Two outdoor showers, plus a water-filling station |
| Parking | 138 striped stalls plus about 100 informal spots on shoulders and gravel | 276 stalls, all new ones at the southern site |
| Surface | Gravel and shoulder parking | Mostly pervious, with new asphalt only for ADA stalls |
| Access | No gates, no reservations | No gates, no reservations, no shuttle, no walk-in ban |
The informal shoulder spots are why the jump looks smaller than it sounds. The state counts today's capacity as 238 once those roughly 100 spots are included, so the approved plan adds 38 spaces and gets cars off the road shoulders.
In June, the state's estimate was about a year of construction and just over $2 million, starting once the special management area permit came through. The permit has now been issued. DLNR's Mākena State Park page shows no construction start date and lists only routine operating notices. The October 13 statewide update shows every Maui and Molokaʻi park open except Polipoli and Waiʻānapanapa. For now, you still bring your own rinse water. In June, residents told Maui Now that's what they had learned to do.
The hearings shaped the project in ways that matter to anyone who uses the park. After the June deferral, Division of State Parks administrator Alan Carpenter submitted a revised plan on July 14. It dropped the earlier idea of growing paved parking from 97 stalls to 235 and cut back nighttime lighting because of nesting turtles, The Maui News reported.
The one commissioner who voted no, Mark Deakos, described the stakes this way in the same Maui News article:
"This is the last beach that still has dark skies."
The approval came with two conditions that keep the bigger questions open. The state has to deliver a carrying-capacity study by July 31, 2028, looking at what the 164.4-acre park can sustainably handle. It also has to look into whether it can legally set aside parking for residents. Maui Now reported that the state doesn't think Mākena needs a reservation system now, but would consider one if visitor demand grows.
So the vote settled the buildings. Who parks at Big Beach and how many people go there are still being studied.
While Big Beach went through public process, use at Mākena Landing changed through operators deciding to move. Maui Now's August report pointed to two causes. New construction near the shoreline has added paved surfaces that send runoff straight into the ocean. And after the County's permitting adjustment at several South Maui beach parks, many small scuba, snorkel, stand-up paddle and kayak businesses moved their operations to the Landing.
Maui Now describes the Landing as a place where families swim and picnic, with clear water and the reef that gives nearby Turtle Town its name. In its account, those families now share it with a steady stream of kayak and boat tours throughout the day.
Rebecca Lesher, quality assurance officer at Hui O Ka Wai Ola and a diver who asked for the site to be added back, told Maui Now that she had "noticed real changes at Mākena Landing over the past few years, both in construction and in recreational use."
That request had company. In recent years, the Landing has drawn more requests for renewed monitoring than any other site in the program's history. Big Beach needed a commission vote to get anything. The Landing's main response so far has come from neighbors asking for someone to watch the water.
Hui O Ka Wai Ola, Maui Nui's volunteer clean-water coalition, monitored Mākena Landing from 2017 to 2020 and then stopped. It took its first new sample there on July 1, 2026. Trained volunteers now return every three weeks to test for turbidity, pH and nutrients.
The Landing fills a gap between sites the Hui was already testing. Its posted South Maui dataset shows samples taken at Palauea, Maluaka Beach, Āhihi North and Āhihi South on the morning of February 25, 2026. So the stretch of coast on either side of the Landing already had a record. The spot where the tours now gather didn't.
Here's how the timing works out:
Kim Falinski, lead water scientist with The Nature Conservancy and lead scientist for the Hui, explained the purpose to Maui Now. Long-term data "turns a place people love into a place we can actually track and protect over time – to document success or to advocate for change." The Hui welcomes volunteers, and data downloads are free at huiokawaiola.com.
The rules along the rest of the Mākena shoreline haven't changed, and the state said resident free access would stay the same under the Big Beach project, Hawaiʻi News Now reported. Here's what the state currently posts. Hours can change, so check before you go.
The lighting debate at Big Beach was about turtles, and turtle nesting season is still on. Hawaii Wildlife Fund's calendar runs its Maui nesting activities through November 30, 2026. Its volunteer program includes Dawn Patrol, Night Patrol and Nest Watch shifts, and sign-up information is on the group's website.
Two Mākena timelines point at 2028. That's the year Big Beach's carrying-capacity study is due. It's also the year Mākena Mauka is scheduled to start construction. The Maui Planning Commission accepted the reduced plan in August: 652 homes on about 1,000 acres, 109 of them workforce units, built in three 10-year phases, according to Maui Now. The plan calls for public beach parking, hiking trails, and paths for walking and biking, and it still needs further state and County approvals.
By the time Mākena Mauka breaks ground, the Landing will have about two more years of water samples, collected every three weeks starting July 1, 2026.
Our family has spent generations on these South Maui beaches, and we follow the decisions that shape them as closely as the market. If you're curious how the Big Beach plan, the Landing's busier reef or Mākena Mauka could affect your corner of 96753, MacArthur Team Maui is happy to talk it through. Call or text the MacArthur Team to start your Maui home search.
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