Maunakea Visitor Information Station to reopen
The station has been closed for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning July 15, 2021, modified daily hours of 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m will be in effect until further notice.
The Maunakea Visitor Information Station on Hawaiʻi Island will resume operations starting Thursday, July 15, more than a year after shutting its doors in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff have installed safety barriers and will implement proper social distancing that adheres to local, state and federal guidelines. Modified daily hours of 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m will be in effect until further notice.
“Our goal is to educate the visitors on the cultural importance of the mountain,” says Rodrigo Romo, newly appointed manager of the station. “We need to make sure visitors know how to behave on the mountain and approach it with the respect it deserves.”
Officials encourage everyone to follow health department recommendations on social distancing and protection while visiting Maunakea.
Maunakea Visitor Information Station
The Maunakea Visitor Information Station, which is at the 9,200-foot elevation of Maunakea, is in an area known as Halepōhaku. The Center for Maunakea Stewardship has completed parking lot and traffic flow improvements to ensure parking and vehicle pull-outs are on the same side of the road as the station. This helps to provide safe public access as required by the Maunakea Comprehensive Management Plan.
The Office of Maunakea Management merged with Maunakea Observatories Support Services in August 2020, creating the Center for Maunakea Stewardship, which is responsible for UH-managed Maunakea lands. The center reports directly to the chancellor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
-via UH System News
