#8 of 10 sights in American Samoa
Sight · American Samoa National Park
A museum cannon and Apollo artifacts open onto Samoa’s wider history.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
American Samoa Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for American Samoa National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
National Park Visitor Center in Pago Pago“Up ahead is the National Park Visitor Center in Pago Pago, on the second floor of the MHJ Building. I'd stop for ranger advice on hikes and snorkeling, then have a look at the island and marine-life models.”
Plays on the road 0.7 mi from Jean P. Haydon Museum in the Parkwolf American Samoa Tour Guide.
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“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Jean P. Haydon Museum is a small museum of Samoan culture and American Samoa’s history, in historic downtown Fagatogo across from the U.S. Post Office. Keep it on your Pago Pago list if you want local context: the visit is compact and mostly self-guided. Allow around an hour to read the displays.
There is limited parking around the museum. Public-access information is inconsistent, so confirm entry before making a special trip.
The collection has more than 650 cultural and historical objects. Look for traditional canoes, ‘ie tōga fine mats, an upeti board, ceremonial vessels and work connected with Samoan arts. Some fine mats date back more than 450 years. The displays also cover siapo, the ava ceremony and other parts of Samoan life.
First Lady Jean P. Haydon established the museum in 1970, first displaying its collection at Government House. Its historic concrete block in Fagatogo was built as a Navy commissary in the 1910s and is roughly 40 by 60 feet. It later served as the Navy Treasurer’s Office and then a post office before becoming part of the museum complex in the early 1970s.
The museum displays cannons from the Kaimiloa, a Hawaiian Kingdom steamer sent to Samoa in 1887. The cannons later helped people on Aunuʻu repel a canoe-fleet invasion during the Samoan Civil War. An Apollo display includes moon rocks tied to American Samoa’s role in the U.S. space missions.
Wildlife
19 sightingsNoddyMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
11 sightingsSamoan StarlingMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
17 sightingsButterflyfishMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
18 sightingsHermit CrabMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
10 sightingsMigratory ShorebirdMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
11 sightingsCane ToadMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across American Samoa. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingMount ʻAlava Trail7 mi · 4 hr · 1.8 mi awayRainforest ridge hiking leads to a wide view of Pago Pago Harbor.
ChallengingOld Vatia Trail2 mi · 2.5 hr · 2 mi awayA steep rainforest climb from Vatia to the ʻAlava ridge.
ChallengingUpper Sauma Ridge Trail2.2 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA steep rainforest climb to views of Vatia and Pola.
ModerateLower Sauma Ridge Trail0.4 mi · 38 min · 2.7 mi awayA half-hour walk to Samoan archaeology and Pola Island views.
EasyPola Island Trail0.1 mi · 20 min · 2.7 mi awayA short rocky-shore walk with views of Pola Island.
ChallengingMount ʻAlava Adventure Trail5.6 mi · 5 hr · 2.8 mi awayA hard ridge loop with 56 ladders, 783 steps, and a summit.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayHistoric Tramway LookoutFollow the old cableway story to a wide Pago Pago Harbor view.
Visitor center · 0.4 mi awayTauese P.F. Sunia Ocean CenterA six-foot globe connects reef science with Samoan culture.
Visitor center · 0.7 mi awayNational Park of American Samoa Visitor CenterBilingual displays and ranger advice make this a useful first stop.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayMount Alava SummitA hard rainforest climb earns a wide view over Pago Pago Harbor.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayBlunts Point BatteryTwo guns still overlook the harbor from a short, steep ridge walk.
Scenic pullout · 2.3 mi awayAfono Pass OverlookA quick harbor view between Tutuila's green ridges.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayLower Sauma Ridge OverlookA roadside view across Vaiʻava Strait to Pola Island’s sea cliffs.
Beach · 2.8 mi awayPola Island BeachA brief walk faces Pola's steep, seabird-nesting cliffs.Parkwolf’s American Samoa ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
