A Hawaiian blessing, some playful pooches, and their eager kahu marked the grand opening of Windward O‘ahu’s first off-leash dog park, and our island’s newest designated City park, at Kahua O Waikalua Neighborhood Park in Kāne‘ohe today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
Located at the makai-end of Kulauli Street, the approximately 3-acre park stands between Bay View Golf Course and the Kāne‘ohe Pre-Treatment Facility. Along with housing an off-leash dog park, featuring separate areas for large and small dogs, the park boasts a comfort station (bathroom building), large shade trees, picnic tables, benches, human and pet drinking fountains, and parking for vehicles, bicycles, and mopeds. All with sweeping views of the lush Ko‘olau Mountains.
The park will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the dog park closed on Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. for maintenance beginning the week after the grand opening.
The realization of making this public space accessible to our entire island community required coordination from several stakeholders. They included the Windward Dog Park Hui; Bay View Golf Course; several City and County of Honolulu agencies, including the Department of Environmental Services who transferred the land to the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR); and the area’s City Councilmember Esther Kia‘āina.
“Kahua O Waikalua Dog Park is Windward Oʻahu’s very first off-leash dog park, and a long-awaited addition to our community,” said City Councilmember Esther Kia‘āina. “It provides a safe, dedicated space for dogs to run, play, and socialize, while giving pet owners a place to connect, build relationships, and foster a stronger sense of community. Parks like these are about more than recreation-they enhance our quality of life and ensure our public spaces reflect the needs of our residents and four-legged friends.”
Thanks to $250,000 appropriated from Councilmember Kia‘āina, and in-house work from DPR staff, improvements were made to the park to install the fencing, renovate the comfort station, install irrigation, and prune the trees. Bay View Golf Course officials also supported the park by realigning their adjacent 7th hole, to minimize errant golf balls, and providing public access into the park through their course. Most notably, the diligence of the Windward Dog Park Hui, a non-profit organization launched in 2015, provided years of advocacy to realize this new City park and its off-leash dog park.
“It’s been a long journey but the outcome makes it all worth it,” said Janine Tully, Windward Dog Park Hui President. “A big mahalo especially to our Hui Board Members who through thick and thin stayed committed to opening a dog park.”
During the blessing today, Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Kāne‘ohe community members were joined by State Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, State Representatives Mike Lee & Scot Matayoshi, Kahu Kordell Kekoa, officials from Bay View Golf Course, DPR staff, and variety of delighted dogs with their kahu!
This facility is the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation’s 10th off-leash dog park, and the first for Windward O‘ahu. There are plans to not only create more off-leash dog parks, but to make more of your City parks friendly to responsible pet kahu and their canine companions. For more information about DPR’s dog parks, both on and off-leash, visit bit.ly/OahuDogParks
If you need an auxiliary aid/service, other accommodations due to a disability, or an interpreter for a language other than English in reference to this announcement, please contact the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation at 808-768-3003 on weekdays from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or email parks@honolulu.gov
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