Scouting America, Aloha Council plans to redo the Pop Hutton cabins at Camp Maluhia. Courtesy photo

Tucked into the hills of Waihee in West Maui, Camp Maluhia stands as a jewel in the community, crafted by generations of volunteers and partnerships over the course of almost 100 years. For the people who’ve taken the responsibility as the camp’s caretakers, it’s important that things stay that way.

Camp Maluhia came into existence 22 years before Hawaii became the 50th state. The camp was developed in 1937 in a partnership between the Alexander House, Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America.

In 1947, the Alexander House went out of active community service and relinquished its interest in the camp. A few years later, the Girl Scouts gave up their interest in Camp Maluhia, leaving the Boy Scouts to manage the property.

Maui County Boy Scout Field Executive James Y. Ohta was instrumental in the camp’s founding. The original lease from the state was for 250 acres at $100 per year. In 1958, the roughly 18-acre area that made up Camp Maluhia was purchased from the state.

The camp sits adjacent to the Waihee Ridge Trail, a popular but difficult hike famous for its panoramic views. In 1966, the one-mile access road leading to Camp Maluhia was paved, and most of the road was repaved again in 2002.

To this day, the camp is used by a wide variety of nonprofits and local groups ranging from church and school groups to private individuals and addiction recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. Gatherings, retreats and training sessions help to keep the camp occupied for about 60% of the year and about 95% of weekends.

Hawaii News Now reported in late January that Camp Honokaia, a camp that serves Scouts on Hawaii Island, has been sold to a family from the mainland after state scouting leaders determined the camp was too difficult and expensive to maintain, and didn’t serve enough Scouts on the Big Island.

While there’s been no talk of a sale of Camp Maluhia on Maui, Blake Parsons, the CEO of Scouting America, Aloha Council, said it’s as important now as ever to strengthen community assets like Camp Maluhia to ensure their preservation.

A gem on Maui

Camp Maluhia has taken generations to shape with a variety of individuals and groups contributing along the way in many different ways. Some projects are ongoing today.

The camp features most of the staples that a camp for Scouts would need — a large dining hall, bunkhouses, and kitchen and supporting facilities. There’s room for meetings and conferences, and plenty of space for outdoor activities and games.

Camp Maluhia also has a swimming pool that dates back to the 1930s. The pool has a historic designation, though it was recently redone so that practically everything but the concrete fixture is brand new.

The camp also enjoys having National Rifle Association-approved archery, shooting and shotgun ranges.

“One key thing we did over the last few years is we brought the NRA out here and they reviewed all of our ranges to make sure that our ranges were up to NRA standards,” Parsons said. “As of today, this range is completely up to standards — and rocking. Just for the NRA and the community to come up here to be able to use a range like this is awesome. Anybody from the mainland who comes and shoots off this shotgun range knows it’s probably the most beautiful shotgun range in the whole country.”

The camp has meeting spaces and a large gathering hall, and a fire bowl area with established campsites. Altogether, Camp Maluhia can accommodate about 200 campers and staff, with multiple lodging options for a range of group sizes.

While the camp has served scouting troops on Maui since its creation, it was developed under the concept of community use, and that remains true today as Camp Maluhia is frequented by school, church and nonprofit groups throughout the year.

“More people on Maui have come through this camp as a non-scout than they have as a scout,” said Glenn Kitagawa, chair of the Aloha Council’s Maui Nui District.

Rebranding the Scouts

Scouting America has existed for 116 years, and the Aloha Council in Hawaii was one of the first groups that came along with the inception of the Boy Scouts.

The national organization updated its policy to allow girls into the Boy Scouts in 2019, and the Boy Scouts of America changed its name last year to Scouting America to reflect the update.

Parsons said girls now make up about 20% of its ranks, and he thinks that’s a good thing.

“I’m an Eagle Scout and I have two daughters,” Parsons said. “I would love for them to have the same experience and opportunity that I had and the skills that I gained … and now they have a choice to be a part of it.”

Speaking during a Maui County Council meeting Feb. 18 as the elected leaders took up a ceremonial resolution to honor the organization’s 116th anniversary, one of the female Scouts said scouting has taught her many new life skills and helped her in her personal life.

After she and two other Scouts had addressed the Maui County Council, some of the elected officials spoke about their own experience in Scouts, including Council Chair Alice Lee, who recalled going to Camp Maluhia as a Girl Scout.

“This is very important for our mission,” Kitagawa told the Maui County Council members of Scouting America’s decision to include girls. “Look around you. We are led and guided by strong women.”

As the Maui County Council gave the Scouts the floor, the conversation also revealed some of the projects in progress at Camp Maluhia and hinted at a potential funding request that could come in the future. While the County Council only took action to pass the ceremonial resolution honoring the group’s 116th anniversary, multiple council members expressed their desire to support the camp and its mission.

“As you know, we have our jewel, Camp Maluhia, and we’re going to do our best in protecting what she does for the community here on Maui,” Kitagawa told the County Council. “It is a financial challenge for us as well. So if you do see me approach this in the future. It may be for that.”

As things turned out, the newest County Council member, Kauanoe Batangan, who was appointed to represent the Kahului area in December, is an Eagle Scout himself. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in Scouting America, achieved by only about 4% of Scouts.

Scouts and their leaders pose for a photo with Maui County Council after the elected body passed a resolution celebrating the 116th anniversary of Scouting America, Aloha Council. Photo courtesy Steven Fernandez

More work ahead

In response to Kitagawa’s comments, County Council members asked what kind of funding he might be talking about for the camp.

He replied they are in the process of upgrading and redoing some of the bunkhouse cabins, but their biggest goal has been to rebuild their dining hall, which they are going through permitting right now for demolition.

“We have some of the money to rebuild,” he said. “We do know that we are short of it quite a bit still, so we are going to run a community drive as well. We’re not going to just come to the council to say, ‘Hey, give us the money.’ We believe the stakeholders in our program should participate as well.”

More than one County Council member said they could support designating some funding for Camp Maluhia.

“As a former Girl Scout for many years, and also camped up there, I’m sure I can convince my colleagues to provide some support,” Lee said. “In Girl Scouts, we didn’t have Eagle Scouts, so if anything, maybe I was a myna bird.”

During a tour of the property last week, Parsons explained that the Aloha Council received a $1 million donation from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in 2024, following a $500,000 donation from the couple in 2023.

Parsons said that while some of that money is supporting the organization’s operational needs and strengthening its endowment, some of it will redo the Pop Hutton bunkhouse cabins at Camp Maluhia. The $1 million contribution came after Camp Maluhia hosted more than 100 Red Cross workers and several displaced families during the 2023 Maui wildfires.

In 2024, Whittier Trust also donated $100,000 to help replace the Pop Hutton cabins, which are more than 75 years old and have suffered damage from termites and general wear and tear over the years.

The biggest project, however, calls for the new dining hall, as well as the demolition of an old director’s cabin that was damaged by a tree fall. Parsons said the priority is the dining hall, and they have about $2 million in secured funding for it, plus a couple hundred thousand from Bezos’ donation.

Parsons said they have completed an environmental assessment and submitted applications for permits with hopes of starting work in the coming months. Once it’s complete, the new dining hall will seat about 120 people.

“Really, this project started 20 years ago,” Parsons said.

“Greyshirts” from Team Rubicon pause for a group photo in the rain. Pictured are (from left) Jamie Davidson, William Julian, Carl Pope, Chris Gongora, Dave Anderson, James Hokoana, Naoto Nakamura, Rachel LeJeune, Corinne Allain and Michael Oldehaver. Courtesy photo

Community support

Parsons said the Scouting America-Aloha Council is heavily guided by volunteers, and Camp Maluhia is proof of that.

On Friday with the second kona storm bearing down on Maui in as many weeks, James Hokowana and the “Greyshirts” from Team Rubicon were working at Camp Maluhia.

They are a veteran-led organization that responds to natural disasters, and they were doing a service project at the camp when the storm forced them to pivot two days into the project.

After getting a call, Team Rubicon left the camp to clear downed trees so a couple with a newborn baby could get out of their driveway and get the baby medical care. The Grayshirts then went back to Camp Maluhia, which had previously hosted them for two weeks of training a little over two years ago.

“We started this partnership about two years ago where they use all of our camps across the state and bring in people from the community who want to learn how to respond to a disaster,” Parsons explained. “We provide the camp. We provide airfare and food and we host them, and then they do the training on our property. It’s been a great partnership.”

Hokoana agreed, but added that the partnership has produced benefits that extend beyond the camp’s boundaries.

“So much training went on, so much learning, and the community is the benefactor of the partnership that we developed with the Aloha Council and the Boy Scouts camp,” Hokoana said.

That’s just one of many partnerships forged over the years. Many of the cabins bear the names of groups that have partnered with the Scouts in the past. The Lions Camp and the Rotary Camp are two examples on the property.

Different groups have also come in to help at different times. First Hawaiian Bank helped redo some of the rooftops and repainted some of the cabins about 10 years ago. The pool, which dates back to the original property and has a historic designation, was completely refurbished by Maui Pool Masters in 2020. Parsons said that except for the existing cement structure, everything is basically brand new with new tile, plaster, piping, pumps, deck and more. The Army Corps of Engineers has also made significant contributions, just to name a few of the groups that have had a hand in Camp Maluhia.

Parsons said Camp Maluhia wouldn’t exist without volunteers and community partnerships. Given limited funding and resources, Parsons added that finding creative solutions to stretch dollars as far as they can go has been critical in the development of the camp.

“And we’re always open to making new connections and new partnerships,” added Leif Adachi, the camp ranger at Maluhia.

Parsons said that in addition to volunteers and community groups helping to complete projects, they have done work-trade agreements on items like door replacements and carpentry work.

“I’d say it’s important for the community to know that we need your help, we need your support, either in-kind or financially, to make this property continue to be viability,” Parsons said. “Everybody knows what it’s like maintaining their own home. For us, we’re maintaining many homes and lots of large property, and that’s what’s made it viable to this day.”

For more information or to inquire about booking Camp Maluhia, people can click the “Rent Our Facilities” tab at the top of scoutinghawaii.org.