Four hikers who failed to return from a hike in the mountains above Hauula as scheduled Saturday made it out safely Sunday morning and were not cited for hiking in the closed Sacred Falls State Park, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman said.

Three men and one woman, all in their 20s, began their hike near the closed Sacred Falls State Park about 4 a.m. Saturday and were due back about 6 p.m., Capt. Carlton Yamada of the Honolulu Fire Department said. A father of one of the hikers called about 10:30 a.m. Sunday to report them missing.

Rescue crews prepared to search for the overdue hikers with the department’s helicopter Sunday morning but made contact with them via phone and found out that they were 10 minutes away from the Sacred Falls entrance, Yamada said.

The hikers were also met at the trailhead by the Hono-lulu Police Department and officers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.

DLNR determined that the hikers had not been on the Sacred Falls trail, so they were not cited for hiking within the closed park, Deborah Ward, a department spokeswoman, said.

Ward said the hikers, all local residents with experience and proper hiking gear, set out on the Castle Trail in Punaluu on Saturday morning. They bushwhacked their way toward a ridgeline and made it to a gully before deciding to spend the night as inclement weather set in and darkness fell, she said.

The hikers were uninjured and did not require medical attention, Ward said.

William J. Aila, DLNR chairman, said it was fortunate that the hikers were well prepared and left a hiking plan with someone reliable who was able to contact rescue responders. "In this case, the hikers used the lower areas of the park for a safe and expeditious exit after a night in the mountains," Aila said. "We want to remind the public that Sacred Falls State Park is closed for safety due to potential for injury from falling rocks. Anyone caught in the park and trail will be prosecuted and subject to civil and criminal penalties."

Sacred Falls State Park was closed in 1999 following a rockfall in the valley that killed eight hikers and injured many others.