Visitor center · American Samoa National Park
A six-foot globe connects reef science with Samoan culture.
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
A Harbor Inside a Volcano“Pago Pago Harbor sits inside the remains of a volcano. The water occupies a caldera, a broad hollow formed when the volcano's summit collapsed as magma drained from beneath it.”
Plays on the road 0.7 mi from Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center 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
The Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center is the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa’s indoor visitor and learning center in Fagatogo. It’s a compact stop for reef ecology and Samoan connections to the ocean, rather than a place to enter the water. Admission is free.
The exhibit room centers on Science On a Sphere, a six-foot projection globe that displays planetary data. Surrounding exhibits cover coral reefs, ocean ecosystems, natural and human threats, and Samoan ties to reefs. Expect a small, focused exhibit rather than a large museum. Staff explanations can help connect the displays to local marine life and nearby places.
The exhibits put reef science alongside Samoan cultural ties to coral reefs. Fa'aSamoa—the Samoan way of life and identity—gives the center’s ocean story a local cultural frame as well as an ecological one.
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
ChallengingOld Vatia Trail2 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayA steep rainforest climb from Vatia to the ʻAlava ridge.
ChallengingMount ʻAlava Trail7 mi · 4 hr · 2.1 mi awayRainforest ridge hiking leads to a wide view of Pago Pago Harbor.
ChallengingUpper Sauma Ridge Trail2.2 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA steep rainforest climb to views of Vatia and Pola.
ModerateLower Sauma Ridge Trail0.4 mi · 38 min · 2.4 mi awayA half-hour walk to Samoan archaeology and Pola Island views.
ChallengingMount ʻAlava Adventure Trail5.6 mi · 5 hr · 2.5 mi awayA hard ridge loop with 56 ladders, 783 steps, and a summit.
EasyPola Island Trail0.1 mi · 20 min · 2.5 mi awayA short rocky-shore walk with views of Pola Island.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayHistoric Tramway LookoutFollow the old cableway story to a wide Pago Pago Harbor view.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayJean P. Haydon MuseumA museum cannon and Apollo artifacts open onto Samoa’s wider history.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayBlunts Point BatteryTwo guns still overlook the harbor from a short, steep ridge walk.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayMount Alava SummitA hard rainforest climb earns a wide view over Pago Pago Harbor.
Visitor center · 1 mi awayNational Park of American Samoa Visitor CenterBilingual displays and ranger advice make this a useful first stop.
Scenic pullout · 1.9 mi awayAfono Pass OverlookA quick harbor view between Tutuila's green ridges.
Sight · 2.4 mi awayLower Sauma Ridge OverlookA roadside view across Vaiʻava Strait to Pola Island’s sea cliffs.
Beach · 2.6 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.
