Do I need an API key?

No. The MCP URL and the JSON endpoint are public. They return trail and road status, not personal data.

Is this an official National Park Service feed?

No. Official alerts live on nps.gov/hale. This compile names those pages as sources and dates the check.

What if the tool says open and the park site says closed?

Believe the park site. The tool is a dated compile. The hiking table and the conditions page win when they disagree with us.

Does this replace the hours page?

No. /hours is the human write-up: arrival timing, the 5pm lot gate, and the two things that can stop you. The MCP is the same pair for a model that can call a tool.

Pīpīwai TrailAbout

Pipiwai Trail Status for Claude and ChatGPT

Last checked 2026-08-23

Add https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/api/mcp to Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor and you can ask whether Pīpīwai Trail is open. The tool returns two axes that fail independently: the park (NPS hiking table and alerts) and the Hāna Highway to Kīpahulu (Hawaii DOT). No key. This is compiled status, not a park feed.

Claude Desktop or Cursor, mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipiwai-trail": {
      "url": "https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

JSON without MCP

curl -sS https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/api/nps-status

Where the URL goes
Client	What to add
Claude	Custom connector. URL https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/api/mcp
ChatGPT	Custom MCP connector. Same URL.
Cursor	An mcp.json entry with that URL.

How to add the server

One URL: https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/api/mcp. Paste it into a Claude connector, a ChatGPT custom connector, or your Cursor MCP config. The server speaks Streamable HTTP. There is no OAuth step and nothing to install besides that URL.

Two tools. get_pipiwai_status is the live open/closed pair. get_pipiwai_facts is the stable planning set: miles, fee, reservation, lot gate, group size, pets, swimming at the pools.

What comes back

Park: Kīpahulu district, Pīpīwai, Kūloa Point, any park-wide alert, and whether the Pools of ʻOheʻo are open to entry. Road: whether the highway past Hāna is passable. Each side carries a check date and a source URL so the model can name NPS or Hawaii DOT.

The same pair is written in English on https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/hours. Ask the model for the dates. A status without a date is not useful.

JSON if you do not speak MCP

GET https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/api/nps-status returns the same live object the site uses on every page. Same KV store, same 12-hour scrape. Use it when your agent can fetch a URL but cannot add an MCP server.

What this is not

Not the National Park Service. A dated compile from the Haleakalā hiking table, the conditions page, and the Hawaii DOT Maui roadwork page. If those pages move after we checked, they win.

Questions

Do I need an API key?: No. The MCP URL and the JSON endpoint are public. They return trail and road status, not personal data.
Is this an official National Park Service feed?: No. Official alerts live on nps.gov/hale. This compile names those pages as sources and dates the check.
What if the tool says open and the park site says closed?: Believe the park site. The tool is a dated compile. The hiking table and the conditions page win when they disagree with us.
Does this replace the hours page?: No. /hours is the human write-up: arrival timing, the 5pm lot gate, and the two things that can stop you. The MCP is the same pair for a model that can call a tool.

Sources: https://www.nps.gov/hale/planyourvisit/hiking.htm · https://www.nps.gov/hale/planyourvisit/conditions.htm · https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/roadwork/maui/ · https://pipiwaitrailmaui.com/hours