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Short answer: Hawaii state park reservations open 30 days ahead (Wai‘ānapanapa at midnight HST), Hanauma Bay opens exactly 2 days ahead at 7 AM, Haleakalā sunrise opens 60 days ahead at 7 AM, and Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona program opens 8 weeks ahead at 3 PM. Set reminders before you fly.
Hawaii state park reservations, and the handful of other bookings visitors need, all open on different schedules. Miss a release by an hour and the slot you wanted is gone, and a rental car doesn’t get you in without one. This calendar puts every window in one place, checked against each official booking page.
Every Hawaii reservation window at a glance
All times are Hawaii Standard Time (HST). Hawaii doesn’t use daylight saving time, so the gap to the mainland changes during the year: HST is 2 hours behind Pacific Time in winter and 3 hours behind in summer. Prices are for non-residents unless noted.
| Place | Island | When booking opens | Release time | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haleakalā sunrise (3:00 to 7:00 AM entry) our guide · official site |
Maui | 60 days ahead, plus a second batch 2 days ahead | 7:00 AM HST (60-day release) | $1 per vehicle reservation, plus the $30 vehicle entrance fee | Book on recreation.gov. The entrance fee is paid separately. |
| Wai‘ānapanapa State Park our guide · official site |
Maui | 30 days ahead, one day at a time | Midnight HST | $5 per person + $10 per vehicle for parking (non-residents) | Arrive within 30 minutes of your slot. |
| ‘Īao Valley State Monument our guide · official site |
Maui | Up to 30 days ahead | Check the booking site | $5 per person + $10 per car (non-residents) | Open 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM; last reservation 4:30 PM. |
| Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve our guide · official site |
Oahu | Exactly 2 days ahead | 7:00 AM HST | $25 entry (non-residents 13+) + $3 parking, cash only | Closed Monday and Tuesday. A few walk-in tickets when the lot opens at 6:45 AM. |
| Diamond Head State Monument our guide · official site |
Oahu | Up to 30 days ahead | Check the booking site | $5 per person + $10 per car if driving (non-residents) | Hawaii residents with state ID are exempt. Arrive within 30 minutes of your slot. |
| Pearl Harbor: USS Arizona Memorial program our guide · official site |
Oahu | 8 weeks ahead, plus a second batch 24 hours ahead | 3:00 PM HST (both batches) | Free; $1 Recreation.gov fee per ticket. Parking is $7 a day. | Same-day in-person tickets have ended; standby is limited and not guaranteed. |
| Hā‘ena State Park our guide · official site |
Kauai | 30 days ahead (gohaena.com) | Check the booking site | $20 per car per time slot + $5 per person, or the North Shore Shuttle ($45 adult, $25 child) | Reopens October 15, 2026, with the shuttle running again. HDOT still lists Kuhio Highway past Hanalei as local access only (October 9 update), and Kalalau overnight hiking stays closed. |
How to plan the bookings around your trip
- 8 weeks out: book the USS Arizona program if Pearl Harbor is on your list.
- 60 days out: book Haleakalā sunrise. If you miss it, a second batch opens 2 days before.
- 30 days out: state parks open one day at a time. Wai‘ānapanapa releases at midnight HST, which is early morning on the mainland.
- 2 days out: Hanauma Bay, at 7:00 AM HST. Because the bay is closed Monday and Tuesday, there is no booking on Sunday.
Several of these sit hours apart. Wai‘ānapanapa is near the end of the Road to Hana and Haleakalā sunrise means a pre-dawn drive up the mountain, so check the drive before you lock in a time slot. See how long it takes to drive around Maui and driving the Road to Hana in a rental car.
The rules that catch people out
- Arrive inside your window. The state parks say to arrive within the first 30 minutes of your slot, and late arrivals can be turned away without a refund.
- Residents are treated differently. Hawaii residents with a state ID are exempt at Diamond Head and the state parks, but out-of-state friends traveling with them still need their own tickets.
- Parking is part of the booking. At the state parks you reserve the parking slot along with entry. A ticket without parking doesn’t get your rental into the lot.
- Weather refunds are rare. The state parks don’t refund for rain unless the park officially closes; storm closures are refunded automatically.
Booking these before you fly? Lock in the rental car on the same day so pickup times line up with your reservation slots.
What doesn’t need a reservation
Plenty of the big sights don’t: the Waipio Valley lookout, the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station, Kualoa Ranch’s visitor center lot, and most beach parks. Their limits are parking and road rules instead. See the Mauna Kea guide, Waipio Valley in a rental car and Kualoa Ranch parking.
Keep this calendar current
Hawaii booking rules change several times a year, and storms can close a park overnight. We check the official pages behind this table every week, and the date below shows the last review. Always confirm on the official booking page before you set an alarm.
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Photo: RDNE Stock project on Pexels.
Researched and written by Neo Pecorro. Facts on this page were checked against each official booking page (Hawaii State Parks, the City and County of Honolulu, and the National Park Service), plus the other sources linked above. Hawaii rules change often, so confirm on the official page before you go.
Last updated: October 15, 2026.