Minimum · State Prison · HI DCR

Kulani Correctional Facility

Hilo, Hawaii County, Hawaii

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (808) 933-1922 Info last verified: June 2026

A remote minimum-security men's prison on the slope of Mauna Loa on the Big Island, known for Hawaiian-culture, education, and conservation programs.

Statewide rules that apply at HI DCR facilities

These rules are set by HI DCR and apply at every unit. The full list — including all permitted and prohibited items and the approval process — is in Visiting in Hawaii.

Dress code

Dress modestly — Hawaii facilities enforce a visiting dress code that bars revealing, sheer, or provocative clothing, beachwear, and anything resembling what inmates or staff wear; closed-toe footwear is expected.
Each facility sets and enforces its own specifics and may turn a visitor away for dressing out of code, and electronics are not allowed inside, so confirm the dress code with the facility before traveling.

ID: Every visitor must be on the inmate's approved visitor list before visiting — the inmate submits the proposed list, DCR runs a background check, and the facility approves or denies. Bring a government-issued photo ID to each visit.
What to bring: Bring only what the facility allows — most personal items are not permitted in the visiting room. Money for an inmate's account at an in-state facility is sent through GTL / ViaPath ConnectNetwork, never handed over at a visit; the Saguaro prison in Arizona uses a separate money process.
Scheduling: Hawaii has no statewide online scheduler — each facility sets its own visiting days and hours and runs its own visitation hotline, so confirm with the specific facility. Video visits are available through tablets at the in-state facilities. The neighbor-island facilities (on Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island) are reachable from Oahu mainly by air. The roughly 800 men held at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona visit on that prison's schedule, with video booked through the state's mainland branch. Women are held at the Women's Community Correctional Center (Kailua).

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Hawaii

Overview

Kulani Correctional Facility is a minimum-security prison for sentenced men operated by the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR). It sits on the slope of Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island (the Big Island), about 20 miles southeast of Hilo, off Stainback Highway. The facility closed in 2009 and reopened in July 2014.

Hawaii runs a unified corrections system: the state has no county jails, so a single department operates both the pretrial and short-sentence jails (the Community Correctional Centers) and the prisons for sentenced people. Kulani is one of four DCR prisons, and the only one located outside Oahu.

What Makes Kulani Different

Kulani is organized around education, work, and cultural programming. It offers GED education and vocational and Hawaiian-culture programs delivered in partnership with Hawaii Community College, along with conservation and forestry work on the surrounding land and sex-offender treatment.

Its setting is also distinctive. Kulani is rural and remote, on the upland slope of Mauna Loa rather than in or near a city. For families on Oahu or another island, reaching it requires inter-island air travel to Hilo followed by ground travel to the facility. In-state video visits through facility tablets are an option that does not require travel (see Visiting).

Visiting

The statewide DCR rules above — the approved-visitor-list process, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at Kulani. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There

Kulani is on Stainback Highway, on the slope of Mauna Loa about 20 miles southeast of Hilo on Hawaii Island. Visitors arriving from Oahu or another island travel by air to Hilo, then continue by road to the facility. Hilo offers lodging, dining, fuel, and grocery options; services thin out along the upland route toward the facility.

Mail

Hawaii DCR does not use an off-site mail vendor for its in-state facilities. Incoming personal mail goes directly to the facility, addressed to its P.O. Box — not the Stainback Highway address, which identifies the facility’s location for directions. Address personal mail with the person’s full name and inmate number:

[Inmate’s full name and number] Kulani Correctional Facility P.O. Box 4459 Hilo, HI 96720

Books, magazines, and other publications must be sent directly from the publisher or an approved vendor; personal book mailings, food, and packages are not accepted. Envelope rules apply (for example, no stickers, glitter, glue, drawings, or lipstick marks), and mail without the sender’s full name and return address can be rejected. See the Mail & Packages guide for the full rules.

Phone, Video, and Money

DCR contracts with GTL (ViaPath) for phones, tablets, and video visits, billed through ConnectNetwork. Families set up an account at connectnetwork.com to fund calls and to add money to a person’s account; deposits are subject to a statewide monthly limit. See the Phone & Video Calls and Sending Money guides for accounts, costs, and limits.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a Hawaii facility:

Visiting in Hawaii — approval process, dress code, scheduling
Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
Phone & Video Calls — accounts, call costs, video visits
Sending Money — how to add funds to an account
Medical & Mental Health — health care in Hawaii facilities
Transfers — what happens during transfers

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.