Parking
Take ʻIao Valley Road (Highway 32) to ʻIao Valley State Monument and use the visitor parking area. From the restroom and interpretive-sign area, follow the paved garden path to the left before the stream bridge.
Overview
About ʻIao Ethnobotanical Loop
Why go
- An easy paved loop beside ʻIao Stream with the garden’s planting history.
Heads up
- Very short; the Kūkaʻemoku viewpoint is on a separate uphill route.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the West Maui Scenic Drive map
Full mapElevation1,033–1,033 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active West Maui Scenic Drive alert
- CautionWest Maui daytime lane closures on Routes 30 and 340, Oct. 26–30Expect daytime single-lane closures on Route 30 near Honokōhau and Route 340 between Waiehu and Waiheʻe on scheduled weekdays Oct. 26–30; follow traffic control and allow for alternating traffic.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide
Your drive to ʻIao Ethnobotanical Loop, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for West Maui Scenic Drive. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the West Maui Scenic Drive audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
ʻĪao Valley: Needle and History0:00 / 0:38
“You’re approaching the ʻĪao Valley area, with the state monument farther up ʻĪao Valley Road. If you live outside Hawaiʻi, you need advance reservations for entry and parking before driving up.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Coot’s Unusual Feet
- Maui Tropical Plantation: Tram and Lunch
- Why Poi Can Taste Different
- Waiheʻe Refuge: Wetlands and Village History
- 65 audio storiesacross West Maui Scenic Drive’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Humpback Whale, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Spinner Dolphin, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 28 trails, 54 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking ʻIao Ethnobotanical Loop
A very short garden walkʻIao Ethnobotanical Loop is an approximately 0.
ʻIao Ethnobotanical Loop is an approximately 0.07-mile paved circuit beside ʻIao Stream in ʻIao Valley State Monument. That distance is the garden loop alone, not the walk in from parking. Allow about 10 minutes to stroll it, and longer if you stop with the planting. It is an easy, low-commitment way to explore the garden rather than a climb to the valley viewpoint.
Take the garden branchJust beyond the restrooms and interpretive signs, the garden path turns left before the stream…
Just beyond the restrooms and interpretive signs, the garden path turns left before the stream bridge, winds through planted beds beside the water, and returns to the same access. The separate Kūkaʻemoku (ʻIao Needle) route crosses the bridge and climbs to a small shelter and lookout; keep that climb and its longer combined mileage out of this loop’s distance.
Plants and practicalitiesThe garden highlights plants brought to ʻIao Valley by the Hawaiians who settled here.
The garden highlights plants brought to ʻIao Valley by the Hawaiians who settled here. The monument has restrooms but no drinking water, and dogs are not allowed. Out-of-state visitors need advance reservations for entry and parking; Hawaiʻi residents with a valid state ID or driver’s license enter state parks free. Use the monument visitor parking area at the end of ʻIao Valley Road (Highway 32).
Wildlife
Wildlife in West Maui Scenic Drive
152 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
71 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
23 sightingsSpinner DolphinMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
401 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
14 sightingsHawksbill Sea TurtleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
92 sightingsWedge-tailed ShearwaterMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across West Maui Scenic Drive. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
