KA IWI — Hiking and sightseeing is now easier at the Ka Iwi Shoreline Wilderness area after the state yesterday opened two new parking lots and walkways.

A 36-stall parking lot inside the park area now allows hikers to easily access the trail leading to the Makapu'u Lighthouse. A 19-stall parking lot near the Makapu'u Lookout is for motorists wishing to take in the scenic overlook.

Hiker Jay Huber and his family gave the new entrance a thumbs up yesterday. Huber, who lives in Seattle and comes to Hawai'i regularly to visit family, said it was always risky parking along the busy two-lane highway and then climbing around the gate.

"It's very nice," Huber said. "It was a bit dangerous walking on the dirt trail with pipes sticking out and stuff."

The state spent five years planning the $5 million improvement project funded by the federal Highways Administration Scenic Corridors program. Construction took about a year.

"It all fits in," said Dan Quinn state Department of Land and Natural Resources director of state parks. "Once the vegetation fills in, it will look like it belongs here."

Hikers will no longer have to park along busy Kalaniana'ole Highway and dodge traffic to get to the trail head. A gate will block access to the hiking trail area from 7:45 p.m. until 7 a.m. during the summer. The park will close at 6:45 p.m. during the winter, Quinn said.

The plan came together after several sessions with the community, members of the Ka Iwi Action Council and state engineers. The goal was to keep the area as undeveloped as possible and yet provide safety to hikers and vista viewers. In addition, the state put utility lines underground and installed new guardrails along the highway.

"It's a very low-key, unobtrusive improvement," said state Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai). "The rock walls are indigenous and it's actually an enhancement of the natural area."

The first car to use the roadway leading to the parking lot after it was blessed by kumu John Lake yesterday was driven by a woman who, with her children, planned to walk the paved mile-long trail to the lighthouse in the 354-acre park that runs from Queen's Beach to Makapu'u head.

Peter Young, chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the project was necessary because of safety concerns tied to both parking alongside the highway and hikers crossing through traffic to reach the trail head.

"It's such a great, easy hike," Young said. "By having this, we'll obviously make it easier and safer to stop here to see this place."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.