Big Island · North Kohala
Lapakahi State Historical Park
Koaiʻe
Lapakahi State Historical Park (262 acres) preserves the partially excavated and reconstructed pre-contact Hawaiian fishing village of Koaiʻe, dating to roughly the 1300s. Located on Hwy 270 about 12.4 miles north of Kawaihae. Self-guided 1-mile interpretive loop covers reconstructed hale, salt pans, fishing platforms (koʻa), canoe storage enclosures, heiau, and a konane (Hawaiian checkers) board for visitor use. Koaiʻe Cove is a Marine Life Conservation District (Hawaiʻi DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources) — no fishing, feeding, or taking of any marine resource. Park designated 1967. Open daily 8 AM – 4 PM, free admission, closed state holidays.
Koaiʻe is the village. Lapakahi is the state park around it. Walk the marked path; do not enter the partially reconstructed hale; do not move stones. The salt pans, fishing platforms, canoe storage areas you'll see on the loop are the work of the people who lived here — the descendants of those people are still in North Kohala. Do not collect rocks, shells, or anything else from inside the cove — Koaiʻe Cove is a Marine Life Conservation District and the prohibition has legal weight. The konane board near the trailhead is for visitors to play; do.