Things to Do in Keauhou in October 2026: Events by the Bays

Almost everything on Keauhou's calendar this October is free. Food truck nights on a resort lawn, hula in a shopping center courtyard, keiki trick-or-treating and new moon storytelling by the pool all cost nothing to attend. The one regular fee in the neighborhood is the parking fee at Kahaluʻu Beach Park. Hawaiʻi residents with ID don't pay it, and every dollar goes to the volunteers looking after the reef.

That shapes how the month works. The events sit in a short stretch between Kahaluʻu Bay and Keauhou Bay. A county trolley already runs the whole route, and most of the people running the events are looking after the water. Below is how October lays out, starting with the bay that sets its own hours.

Kahaluʻu Keeps Its Own Schedule

Kahaluʻu Beach Park is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. As a Hawaiʻi County beach park, it can also close for hazardous weather or ocean conditions. It can close during sensitive periods too, such as coral spawning, coral bleaching or extreme low tides. This year has already shown it. In mid-June, county crews closed Kahaluʻu, Kohanaiki Beach Park and the pavilions at Old Kona Airport Beach Park to clear debris washed in by the King Tides. A quick check before driving down saves a wasted trip.

When the park is open, it runs on a staffed daily schedule:

ReefTeach is The Kohala Center's program of volunteer community stewards. They're on site every day the park is open. Besides helping visitors at the water's edge, the program runs free learning for local and visiting school groups, teachers and businesses. It also does regular monitoring of water quality, coral, fish and how people use the bay. Residents who want to help can sign up as volunteers on The Kohala Center's ReefTeach page.

The fee works like this. Nonresidents pay $12 for four hours, and all of it supports ReefTeach. Hawaiʻi residents with valid ID always park free. Stop at the blue Parking and Bay Information tent for a parking sticker, or check in just for the day if you don't come often. Paying visitors can use the Parkmobile app or pay cash or card at the tent.

For guests getting in the water, the stewards ask for a few things:

• Enter through the channel by the lifeguard tower.
• Don't stand outside the orange buoys.
• Use only mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the active ingredients.
• Stay at least 10 feet away from honu.

Keauhou Shopping Center Has an Event Most Weekends

From Kahaluʻu, the next place with something on is Keauhou Shopping Center, which has a regular schedule.

The Keauhou Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon in the Phase Two parking lot. Vendors sell Hawaiʻi-grown produce, honey, flowers, Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, meats, eggs, breads and jams. The next listed market day is October 10.

Friday evenings alternate formats. On October 9, Second Friday Entertainment features Kenny Tagavilla playing live music from 6 to 7 p.m. There is no hula show that night. A week later, on October 16, free Friday Hula returns to the center courtyard from 6 to 7 p.m. Both end by 7, which leaves time for dinner afterward. The center's current dining list includes Kenichi Pacific and Tropics Tap House Kona.

The month ends with the Candy Crawl on Saturday, October 31. It's a free trick-or-treat for keiki with participating tenants, and management gives out goodie bags. You need to register. Parents sign up through Eventbrite with one ticket per child, and only the child needs a ticket. The event page lists two different time windows, 2 to 5 p.m. in one place and 4 to 6 p.m. in another. Its registration note also still shows a 2025 date. Families planning around a nap or a dinner should confirm the hours with the center, which says it posts updates through @shopkeauhou.

Tuesdays Happen on the Kukui Lawn

Down the road at OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa, 78-128 Ehukai Street, Tuesdays have their own routine. The Tasty Tuesday Food Truck Pop-Up sets up on Kukui Lawn, in front of the resort entrance, from 4 to 8 p.m. The resort lists it as complimentary and open to all ages, with free parking. The next listed date is October 6.

On Tuesday, October 27, the same resort hosts Under The New Moon from 5 to 6 p.m. at PIKO Makai on the Inner Pool Deck. This free public event features Hawaiian storytelling and Nā Wai Iwi Ola Hula Hālau. The pop-up runs weekly from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, so if it is running on the 27th, the storytelling hour falls in the middle of food truck night at the same address.

October, Date by Date

Today is Sunday, October 4. Here's the rest of the month in order:

1. Tuesday, October 6: Tasty Tuesday Food Truck Pop-Up, Kukui Lawn, OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa, 4 to 8 p.m., then weekly on Tuesdays.
2. Friday, October 9: Second Friday Entertainment with Kenny Tagavilla, Keauhou Shopping Center, 6 to 7 p.m.
3. Saturday, October 10: Keauhou Farmers Market, Phase Two parking lot, 8 a.m. to noon, then every Saturday.
4. Friday, October 16: Friday Hula, center courtyard, 6 to 7 p.m., free.
5. Wednesday, October 21: Keauhou Bay Underwater Cleanup with Keauhou Canoe Club, 9 a.m. to noon.
6. Tuesday, October 27: Under The New Moon, PIKO Makai, OUTRIGGER Kona Resort & Spa, 5 to 6 p.m., free.
7. Saturday, October 31: Candy Crawl, Keauhou Shopping Center, registration required, confirm the hours.

The Trolley Already Runs the Route

These stops sit on one bus line. Hele-On Route 201, the Kona Trolley via Aliʻi Drive, runs seven days a week between the Loloku Street Park & Ride and Keauhou. Buses come every hour from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. under the timetable that took effect July 12, 2026. Stops include Kahaluʻu Beach and OUTRIGGER Keauhou. The last run is at 9 p.m., an hour after Tasty Tuesday wraps up at 8. The Route 201 schedule lists exact times for each stop.

For drivers, the state's lane-closure sheet for October 3 through 9 shows no state roadwork on Aliʻi Drive or Kamehameha III Road. The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation notes that schedules can change, and the sheet doesn't cover county projects.

Keauhou Bay Gets a Cleanup and Has a Plan Pending

The southern bay's biggest date this month is a working day. Keauhou Canoe Club has listed a Keauhou Bay Underwater Cleanup for Wednesday, October 21, from 9 a.m. to noon. The club's racing calendar was busier earlier in the year. Its 2026 Keauhou Regatta was held May 23 at the historic Kailua-Kona pier, not at Keauhou Bay.

Over the longer term, the bay's shoreline is the subject of Kamehameha Schools' Keauhou Bay Management Plan. It covers about 29 acres. It would move commercial activity away from sensitive cultural areas, add a cultural education center, and put low-impact lodging on the mauka plateau. In June 2026, Big Island Now described the lodging as 150 bungalows. It reported they weren't expected for at least five to 10 years and would first need a Special Management Area permit.

Here is the record as of this summer. Hawaiʻi County accepted the plan's Final Environmental Impact Statement on September 23, 2025. A July 2026 errata restored six pages left out of the public version, and the county confirmed that the correction didn't change its acceptance. In June, a lawsuit challenging that acceptance was still ongoing. Kamehameha Schools expected to submit its SMA permit request later in 2026. No later public update on the lawsuit or the permit has been located since then. The July errata filing is the most recent document in the state's environmental review record.

When the SMA application is filed, the public will be able to read the details on how the bay's edge would change. Until then, the October 21 cleanup is the clearest scheduled way to work on Keauhou Bay this month.

Owning near either bay raises its own questions, like how a home might be affected by shoreline planning around Keauhou Bay or what a property near Kahaluʻu takes to maintain in salt air. I spent nearly a decade inspecting homes on this island and can walk through those details with you. If that would help, Kekoa Akana is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Private Consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.