Eleven wooden posts stand on the mauka side of Kailua Beach Park. The City has asked beachgoers to leave them alone and to tell other people what they are for. Each post marks where a milo, kou or heliotrope tree will go. Put them next to the post-and-rope fencing, the temporary irrigation and a construction site on the Lanikai hillside, and the park can look half-built this fall.
Kailua Beach is being rebuilt in phases, one volunteer workday at a time, and most of the 2026 work is on the Lanikai end, around Kaʻelepulu Stream and the boat ramp.
A Rebuild Measured in Plants
The Kailua Beach Dune Restoration started in November 2024. It covers the shoreline between Kailua Road and the park's boat ramp. The partners are the City's Department of Parks and Recreation, the City's Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant, and a working group of Windward residents and beachgoers. The City's Kailua Parks project page lays out the order of the work:
- November 2024 to July 2025: Crews removed ironwood stumps, leaning trees and broken infrastructure, including dead irrigation lines, eroding concrete foundations and damaged benches.
- January to February 2025: Sand that had piled up near the parking lot, shower and comfort station went back to the shoreline to smooth out steep drop-offs.
- February 2025: Temporary sand fencing went up in the Phase 1 area, with signs asking people to use the marked paths to the ocean.
- May 31, 2025: Volunteers planted 344 native plants between the canoe hale parking lot and Lifeguard Tower 8B.
- September 27, 2025: More than 150 volunteers put in 1,800 plants in two hours, including nanea, pōhinahina, ʻakiʻaki, ʻākulikuli and pōhuehue.
- August 29, 2026: About 50 volunteers planted 11 coastal trees, 25 variegated naupaka and 300 ʻakiʻaki plugs just makai of the canoe hale parking lot, on the Lanikai side of Kaʻelepulu Stream.
Every step before August 2026 dealt with sand and ground cover, the low plants that hold blowing sand in place. The trees are the first planting in the taller, longer-term layer that sits mauka of the ground cover. The ironwoods came out first for a reason the City spells out. Ironwood roots hold little sand, and the trees crowd out the native plants the dunes need.
The fences and marked paths exist because of how many people use this beach. A Hawaiʻi Sea Grant report on recreational use at Kailua Beach Park counted more than 1,700 visitors a day. Young dune plants can't take that much foot traffic without protection.
What Is Still Coming, and Where
The City's list of next steps shows the posts and rope lines are early markers for work still to come, not leftovers from finished work.
| What you will see | Where | Status in the City's latest update |
|---|---|---|
| Eleven wooden posts | Mauka side of the beach | Spots for future milo, kou and heliotrope trees |
| Young trees, variegated naupaka, ʻakiʻaki | Makai of the canoe hale lot, Lanikai side of Kaʻelepulu Stream | Planted August 29, 2026 |
| More post-and-rope fencing with 20-foot-wide paths | Dune planting areas | Planned, with signs explaining the work |
| Low-growing naupaka | Along the front of the parking lot | Planned, to keep blowing sand off the pavement |
| Beach heliotrope, milo, hala and kou | Between the Kaʻelepulu Stream mouth and the Lanikai-side lifeguard stand | Proposed |
Two of those rows will change how a beach day feels. The 20-foot paths mean the walk from car to water will more and more follow set routes through the planted areas. The naupaka hedge in front of the lot goes after a smaller daily annoyance, sand blowing across the pavement.
The Same End of the Beach Is Getting a Lifeguard Base
The construction above the beach on the Lanikai side is a separate project. It will become a Windward operations base for the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department. KHON reported in May 2024 that the old equipment storage wasn't enough, and that lifeguards were hauling gear from Koko Head District Park.
Spectrum News described the plan at the time as a single-story building of about 800 square feet. It sits on a 10,000-square-foot parcel on the Lanikai hillside overlooking Kailua Bay and the beach park. The plans called for two offices, a bathroom, a kitchenette, board storage and two roll-up garages for trucks and rescue skis. The announced cost was $2.5 million.
The finish date has slipped. In 2024 the City expected to finish the following summer. At the board's April 2, 2026 meeting, the projected completion was September. At the Kailua Neighborhood Board's September 3, 2026 meeting, an Ocean Safety representative said the building and its parking lot were moving along, with completion expected around October 2026. With October nearly over, the board's November meeting is the most likely place for an update. The board has already set October 25 as the deadline for November committee agendas.
The Overnight Closure Is Now Permanent
One rule changed for good this year. The City's Department of Parks and Recreation began a three-month trial on Friday, September 5, 2025, closing Kailua Beach Park every night from midnight to 4 a.m. On September 11, 2026, the department made those hours permanent, after community input that went through the Neighborhood Board.
The notice adds a detail that matters for the early-morning crowd. You may cross a closed City park at any hour, especially to reach the ocean. Staying in the park during closed hours is not allowed without a DPR permit. The gates are back open at 4 a.m.
Near the park entrance, the board's September summary also describes Zone A, the area set aside for wind sports and known locally as "Kite Beach." That zone stays in place. Most of the dune and tree work is down the beach toward Kaʻelepulu Stream.
Triangle Park Is the Piece That Stalled
Kaʻelepulu Mini Park, known locally as Triangle Park, shows how a step can slip. In a spring 2026 board update, a Department of Transportation Services representative said the park's mobile office would be removed on March 27, with restoration crews starting March 30. The plan called for Bermuda grass and four trees, removing rocks larger than an inch, and putting the chain-link fencing and bollards back once the staging area was cleared. Grass and trees each got roughly three months of maintenance.
By the April 2 meeting, a resident reported tractors on site after a community meeting that drew about 40 people. On September 3, Mayor Rick Blangiardi's representative, Shayne Enright, told the board the grass hadn't taken and the City was looking at sod. Board member Evan Weber asked for a firm completion date. Enright said she would take the request to the Director of Transportation Services.
The dunes have a monthly working group and regular volunteer days behind them. Triangle Park is waiting on a contractor and a City answer.
Down the Beach at Kalama, a Finished Job
Head north along the sand to Kalama Beach Park and you'll find a project that is actually done. The roof of the Boettcher Estate was rebuilt starting in mid-January 2026 and finished that summer. Moriyama Construction did the work under a $1.2 million contract, using cedar shingles that match the original design.
Vladimir Ossipoff designed the building in 1936, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The City bought it in 1979 for $150,000. The price was that low thanks to a $600,000 gift from Mae Boettcher and a $750,000 federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. The house now sits inside the 4.28-acre Kalama Beach Park.
DPR says the new roof lets staff start reopening the building's underused rooms for recreation. It is also inviting community and philanthropic groups to help restore the rest of the building and put more of it to use.
Getting on the Planting List
Kailua's beach work moves forward on volunteer days, so the way in is the working group. The City says the dune effort holds monthly community working group meetings and volunteer workdays, and that more details on tree planting will be posted soon. To join, email [email protected]. The City's dune restoration guide explains how projects like this are permitted and run in City beach parks.
At Hokua Hawaii Realty, we follow Kailua down to the posts in the sand, because a home's value near the beach park depends on what is happening on that shoreline. If you own near Kailua Beach and want to know where your home stands this fall, Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through it.
