As outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, backpackers, tent campers and nature lovers, we were thrilled to stay in Koke`e State park as a change of pace from the busy Lihue side if the island. We have stayed in many other state park cabins but found this one very poorly maintained. The cabin was crumbling, dirty, the shower had flaking shards of fiberglass which cut my toe and swirling brown sediment when the shower was turned on. Even with shower shoes, I felt uncomfortable. Ater a long day hiking, it was nice to have clean sheets, an indoor toilet and refrigeration.

With the cabins proximity to the road, I feel the cabins could and should be better maintained. Their recent price increase makes it a better value to stay at one of th inns or B&B in Waimea and take daytrips into the canyon.

We left earlier than planned. When we explained the reason for our departure, we were told "the cabins are old". Old is one thing falling apart from lack of maintanence is another.

Stay away! My boyfriend and I stayed there for 3 nights. We're backpackers and don't need frills, but this was something else. First night, no hot water and the gas stove didn't work. The next day they told us we could have a free meal at the restaurant to make up for the inconvenience, which we appreciated. When we got back from our hike we stopped by to receive our meal but the restaurant was closed early, for no apparent reason. The same lady who'd been so apologetic the night before told us we could only have something from the refrigerator, and she charged us for it. Okaaaay. We returned to our room to find the water heater had been turned on, but the thermocouple was broken, so we only had hot water for a few hours on the second day. The last day, again, no hot water. We wound up driving down the hill to Waimea (about 45 minutes away) for dinner each night. As for condition, forget it. The bed was lumpy, the blankets and towels were worn, and the bathroom so run down that I wore shower shoes, and the shower curtain wasn't long enough to keep the water inside, so everything in the bathroom gets wet when you shower (probably in cold water).

The best part: two days after we checked out, I got a call on my cell phone from the same lady who chased us out of the restaurant, asking if we ever got our free meal. I reminded her that we had come, but she hadn't let us eat there because the restaurant was closed early. She said she hadn't realized that was us and we should have said something. Hmmm, I didn't realize this was my fault......

Bottom line-beautiful hikes are nearby, but stay in Waimea and drive up to the trailhead instead. Avoid this place at all costs!

We travelled to Hawaii this year and thought it would be great to stay at a state park
lodging like Kokee. What a Mistake. The exterior is cute, very rustic, nothing at all fancy, but that is ok. We made the mistake of going inside, it was downhill from there. The kitchen area looked like there had been a bar room brawl because the counter was moved almost half a foot. All the counters and cupboards were sticky to the touch. Not becuase someone had sticky hands, dirty sticky. We were even reluctant to put food in the fridge.
Don't get me started on the bathroom. I wouldn't let my dog go in there. The shower & toilet looked like if you used them you would catch something. I've travelled with friends and have stayed at state park accomodations before. We stayed at Phantom ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, rustic, nothing fancy but clean...... Even the firewood that we bought was wet. Here is a tip. If you are going to charge for firewood, make sure it is dry so we can burn it, the firewood must have smoldered for about 30-45 minutes before we started to get any fire/heat, the rest of the wood we had to leave on the floor to dry.

It is a real shame that the state of Hawaii is not taking better care of this facility. The Waimea Canyon area is beautiful. People that enjoy hiking in my experience tend to be low maintenance when it comes to accomodations. We were prepared for rustic we were not prepared for disgusting. To get to these accomocations it is a long winding trip up the mountain... the scenery is fantastic. Stop there and head back down and stay in Town, you couldn't pay me enough to stay there again.
Since the trip I have developed a skin irritation. Maybe we weren't the only ones in the room.

We stayed in one of the duplex cabins named Kukui for 1 night in Feb. 2006 It was dirty, cigarette butts in the shower, soiled blankets, one pillow case had a 6" burn hole in it. At least the sheets were clean. The lighting was very dim and scary. I would NEVER get in that filthy shower, or put food on the counter top. We are not prissy prudes. We paid $11.00 for some fire wood that was so green and wet it was almost impossable to burn. It was a cold night so we needed a fire. We have 10 years experience using a wood stove. This stove had broken glass on it's door with 1/4 of the glass missing. The draft was broken and wouldn't open so you had to leave the door open to get the fire to start. Even the hole in the glass wasn't enough air. After at least 45 minutes of totally filling the cabin with smoke, we got the fire started. Ofcourse we had to open all the doors to air out the cabin. Needless to say, it was a miserable, smokey night. These cabins are NOT maintained.