Keālia Pond
Kihei, HI 96753
Plan Your Visit
Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge offers numerous recreation opportunities including bird watching, photography, environmental education, and habitat restoration projects. Visitors can explore the Visitor Center's interactive displays, walk the Kanuimanu Ponds levees, or visit the Keālia Coastal Boardwalk. The refuge is a popular spot for observing endangered waterbirds and migratory species, especially from August to April. Directions for different access points:
- Main Refuge/Visitor Center: Milepost 6 on Maui Veterans Highway (Highway 311), about one mile north of Kihei.
- Keālia Coastal Boardwalk: Off North Kihei Highway between Kihei and Mā‘alaea.
Get Involved
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites you to join in conserving wildlife and wild places by volunteering at Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge. Opportunities include serving as a Visitor Center or Roving Interpretive Docent, working in the greenhouse, or assisting with habitat restoration projects to protect native Hawaiian species.
Services
Keālia Pond NWR management includes controlling water levels in the wetland habitat, removing invasive plant and animal species, and growing and outplanting native plant species. The refuge also provides educational programs for school groups, a native pollinator garden, and a Visitor Center with interactive displays and a nature store operated by the Friends of Keālia Pond.
About
Established in 1992 to protect the habitat of endangered waterbirds, Keālia Pond NWR encompasses approximately 700 acres and is the largest remaining lowland wetland on Maui. It serves as a natural basin for a 56-square mile watershed and provides critical nesting and feeding grounds for the endangered ae‘o (Hawaiian stilt) and ‘alae ke‘oke‘o (Hawaiian coot). The refuge also hosts numerous migratory species from as far as Alaska and Asia during the winter months.