Camping is banned at park until 2017

No camping will be allowed for the rest of the year at the city’s Waimanalo Beach Park, which will be closed for renovations starting Wednesday.

The city campground will be closed to allow city Department of Parks and Recreation crews to improve the campsites, city officials said in a news release Monday.

Camping at Waimanalo Bay and Bellows Field beach parks will remain open during this time.

The Waimanalo Beach Park improvements include cleaning, landscaping, installing new bench tables and conducting maintenance, according to the news release. The 19 existing campsites at the park will be consolidated into 10 larger campsites.

“Campers asked for bigger sites farther away from one another. The consolidation and renovations will provide more adequate room for a better camping experience,” said Jeanne Ishikawa, deputy parks director.

The campground is expected to reopen in early 2017. Notifications and updates of the campground closure will also be posted on the Department of Parks and Recreation camping website at camping.honolulu.gov.