The Garden of Eden Arboretum

It is day four of our trip and our last morning in Hana. We started our day by watching the sun rise over Hana Bay while sitting on our lanai, a picture perfect moment of utter tranquility. The empty beach was calling to us, so we walked up and down the black sand savoring our last moments in Hana. 

This end of the beach is filled with rocks and pebbles, so I recommend wearing sandals until you get past the pebbles and onto the softer sand. Many people do not travel all the way down to Hana Bay, so if you complete your pilgrimage down the road to Hana here, you may be lucky enough to have the entire beach to yourself….especially if you are traveling off season.

We strolled along the water’s edge halfway down the beach before heading back.

We had fun watching the waves rolling in, when they came all the way in you could no longer see all the rocks strewn across the beach. My guess is the rocks go farther out and water sandals would be an excellent idea if you decide to swim here, so you don’t stub your toes. We did not swim in the bay, so I have no idea how rocky the bottom might be or how deep it gets. If we would have had more time, I am sure we would have ventured in eventually.

Our plan for the day was to drive back up the road to Hana, stopping at the Garden of Eden Arboretum, have lunch at Grandma’s Maui Coffee, check into Kula Lodge, then head to Haleakala National Park to hike the Halemauu Trail, hike to the Leleiwi Overlook and drive up to the summit to watch the sunset. With so much planned for the day, we did not have time to linger at the bay.

It takes about an hour to drive from Hana Bay to the arboretum. The arboretum was opened in 1995 with the goal of restoring natural ecosystems and promoting Hawaii’s native and indigenous species. It is located on 26 acres and has 2 1/2 miles of walking trails. The cost of admission is $15/person for 16 years and above, $5 ages 5-16, under 5 is free. There is a processing fee if you use a credit card. They are open daily from 8-4. They have a bathroom, gift shop and food truck on the grounds.

All of the walking trails are well maintained and easy to traverse. Most of the park looks like a variation of the picture above.

We enjoyed Bamboo Alley, although it really couldn’t compare with the Bamboo Forest located on the Pipiwai Trail.

We also thought the 100 year old Mango tree was pretty impressive. Even covered in vines and moss, it was still thriving.

My absolute favorite was the Rainbow Eucalyptus tree. I had seen one at Waipio Valley in Hawaii, and along with my intense turtle spotting mission, I was also on a Rainbow Eucalyptus spotting mission. The arboretum had at least a dozen of these trees. The colors are created by the bark peeling, revealing bright green new bark which darkens over time into red, orange, blue, purple or gray, so each tree is an original work of art.

This is one of the best views of the park. The tree covered rock you see at the ocean’s edge is where the helicopter flies by during the opening scene of the original Jurassic Park. It also flies very low through this valley.

My favorite location in the park was the waterfall overlook, which gives you a view of Puohokamoa Falls, as well as, Hana Highway.

I enjoyed getting an aerial view of the road to Hana. All in all, I was rather disappointed with the garden. I was comparing it to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii and it pales in comparison, in my opinion. I should have come with the image of an arboretum in my mind versus a botanical garden. We did spend at least an hour and a half here and our favorite parts were the Valley Overlook, Keopuka Rock Overlook, the Waterfall Overlook and seeing all of the rainbow eucalyptus trees. My advice would be, if you have plenty of time, it is a pretty place to visit; however, if you will have to cut time away from something else to fit this in, I would skip it.

This concluded our adventures on the road to Hana. If you are interested in reading about more of our adventures in Hana, click on the links below. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.

Check these posts out!

Must See Waterfalls on the Road to Hana

Oceanfront Accommodations in Hana

The Seven Sacred Pools

Visiting the Red Sand Beach

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