Filled with towering peaks, verdant mountainsides and valleys, and a rambling stream, Iao Valley State Monument Park is a beautiful place to visit. Be prepared for rain, as the park is the second wettest place on the Hawaiian Islands.
Iao Valley State Monument Park
Although the park is 6.2 acres, there are only two very short loops for you to explore. The Iao Needle Lookout Trail is .6 mile and the Ethnobotanical Loop is even shorter.
Iao Valley State Monument Park
If you go up the stairs on the Iao Needle Lookout Trail you will arrive at the observation deck, which offers the closest view of the Iao Needle. The Needle rises 1,200 feet above sea level and is the smaller peak in the picture above. The whole area is usually enshrouded in clouds, which adds to the mystical quality of the landscape.
Iao Valley State Monument Park
If you follow the Iao Needle Lookout Trail down, you will end up at the Iao stream.
Iao Stream
It’s a very serene, picturesque place to explore. The amount of water in the stream is dependent on recent rainfall.
Iao Valley State Monument Park
The views are all spectacular, every way you turn. In total, we spent an hour here. You could easily see everything in half that time, but we were in no rush. The park is open from 7am – 6 pm and costs $5 per car to park.
Iao Valley State Monument Park
The last area we wandered through was the very short, Ethnobotanical Loop. We were lucky regarding the weather on our visit. There was a brief, light sprinkle when we first arrived. Other than that, we stayed dry.
I highly recommend taking the time to visit the park. The landscape is phenomenal, the paths are paved and easy to navigate. It is located in central Maui, a bit west of Wailuku. They also have bathrooms, always a plus!
On the way to the park we stopped at Cool Cat Cafe in Lahaina for lunch. It was recommended to us by a local and ended up being one of our favorite meals. On our way back to our condo we stopped at Captain Jack’s Island Grill (yum!) for dinner and then sat under the banyan tree in Lahaina to listen to the myna birds sing as the sun went down. Our next stop for the day was Kepaniwai Park, which is located next to Iao Valley State Monument Park. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
Want to learn more about Maui? Check out the links below for more places to visit.
The Best Turtle Viewing on Maui
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Visiting Iao Valley State Monument Park
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