Waimea Valley / Hi'ipaka

Waimea Valley is owned and operated by Hi'ipaka LLC, a non-profit organization created to protect this sacred valley. We are situated on the North Shore of Oahu, in the valley behind the famous big wave surfing beach, Waimea Bay. The land we take care of consists of a beautiful nearly 300 acre botanical garden on the walk up to our waterfall and about 1500 acres of conservation land in the back of the valley.

Our mission is to preserve and perpetuate the human, cultural and natural resources of Waimea for generations through education and stewardship.

Waimea valley has a long history beginning with the occupation of the land by the Hawaiian people around 1090AD. They lived here for over 700 years.

The land here has changed hands many times over the course of its history, initially belonging to the descendants of the Kahuna nui (top advisor) to king kamehameha then going through being ranch and military land. It was eventually purchased by a family and in the 70's and it was turned into a visitor destination, but it eventually went bankrupt and was sold. It continued changing hands until it was purchased by a developer.

On Dec. 7, 2005, the Honolulu City Council considered a settlement offer which would have subdivided the valley.  Faced with large protests from the community and many organizations, including OHA, the council rejected the settlement, and renewed negotiations over the fate of the valley began. 

On Jan. 5, 2006, the OHA Board of Trustees authorized the purchase of Waimea Valley, in cooperation with the City and County of Honolulu, the U.S. Army, Trust for Public Land, and the State Department of Land and Natural Resources. 

On June 30, 2006 the Office of Hawaiian Affairs became the legal owner of Waimea Valley, after months of negotiations and hard work.  Title transferred to Hi‘ipaka LLC in 2007 as part of an organizational design to facilitate the functionality of the non-profit entity.

We acknowledge the contributions of the City Council and the Mayor; the Legislature, Governor and DLNR Chair Peter Young; the Trust for Public Land and the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii in making this happen.

“The bottom line is that the ahupua`a that is this valley is going to remain intact,” said OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona. “OHA will ensure that Native Hawaiians will have a direct benefit and relationship with Waimea Valley.  OHA will also ensure that the people of Oahu, the State of Hawaii, the nation and the world grow in respect for, are renewed by, care for and support, learn from and celebrate this land of our ancestors, Waimea Valley.”

Our work in Waimea Valley is about taking care of this place in a holistic way, because of that the work we do fall into many fields. We do botanical work to care for the gardens and protect our collections as well as propagating rare and endangered plants to keep their lineages alive. We have conservation work to care for, protect and track the endangered animals living in the valley. We are also rebuilding our native forest lands to create more habitat for native animals and mitigate problems like erosion. We also do cultural work to acknowledge the valley's rich spiritual history, and to protect the many archaeological sites in the valley and to educate others about Hawaiian culture.

Here in the Valley, our vision is to become a living pu'uhonua (place of refuge) for and by the Kanaka (people of the land) for hawaii and the world. 

We work to be a positive force in the world, to protect this sacred land and to inspire and teach others to do the same.