In shortThe Garden of Eden Arboretum sits at mile marker 10.5 on Route 360, 26 acres of trails open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. Admission is $20 from age 16, $10 for ages 5 to 16, and under-fives are not charged. Expect labelled plant collections, coastal and valley lookouts, a waterfall overlook, picnic tables and restrooms, all on graded walking paths.
mile marker 10.5Position on Route 360
26 acresTrails inside the arboretum
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Open daily
$20Admission from age 16
Where the arboretum sits, when it opens and what it costs
The address is 10600 Hana Highway, Highway 360, at mile marker 10.5, and the official site gives the hours as 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day. The grounds run to 26 acres of meandering trails with waterfalls inside the property. One detail trips people up: the 10.5 counts from the point where Route 360 begins, which puts the gate earlier in your morning than the number makes it sound.
Admission goes by age. Budget $20 a head from age 16 and $10 for anyone aged 5 to 16, while under-fives walk in without a ticket, and the official site also notes reductions for parties of five or more, military, students, AAA members and kamaaina. Check the figures on the day you drive, since this is a privately run stop rather than a state park.
| Who | Admission |
|---|
| Age 16 and over | $20 |
|---|
| Ages 5 to 16 | $10 |
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| Under 5 | Not charged |
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| Party of five or more, military, students, AAA members, kamaaina | Reductions listed by the official site |
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Half-day private trip from Paia
Starting at Island Fresh Cafe in Paia and running 4 to 5 hours, this private tour works through the opening mile markers where the arboretum sits, instead of racing to the national park and back.
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What the 26 acres actually give you
The walking happens on made paths, with the plant collections laid out and labelled, so you finally learn the names of things you have been driving past since Paia. Views come in two directions, down to the coast and back into the valley, plus a waterfall overlook inside the grounds.
Picnic tables and restrooms are on site, which matters on a road where the official code of conduct steers people toward park and county facilities instead of roadside pull-offs. Nothing here asks for footwear beyond what you are already wearing in the vehicle. The big hike out at Kipahulu, Pipiwai, is 4 miles round trip with 800 feet of climbing and carries a moderately strenuous rating from the National Park Service. The arboretum is a graded walk, and you can cut it short at any point and still have seen the lookouts.
- Labelled botanical collections along graded trails
- Coastal lookout and a valley outlook from the upper paths
- Waterfall overlook inside the grounds
- Picnic area and restrooms
- Graded paths throughout, with no stream crossings
Keopuka Rock and the Jurassic Park view
The lookout most people photograph faces Keopuka Rock, the offshore outcrop from the opening of Jurassic Park. You see it from inside the arboretum, well above the highway, which is the practical reason to pay the admission instead of hunting for the angle from the road.
Hunting for it from the car is a bad idea on this stretch. Designated stalls are the only legal place to leave a vehicle under the official code of conduct, which warns that anything sticking out into the highway can be towed, and the piece of road immediately below the gate, mile markers 9.79 to 10, is under alternating single-lane control by the state transport department on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop on the shoulder there and you are in the way of the crew and the oncoming lane at the same time.
Where the stop sits between the waterfalls and the valley overlooks
Everything before it is water. The first gate of the day is Twin Falls at mile marker 2, which opens at 7:10 a.m., turns away arrivals after 4:30 p.m. and hands out its 55 parking spots first come. Above it the road climbs into the Waikamoi forest, which is where the current lane closure sits.
Everything just after it is a viewpoint. Kaumahina State Wayside, placed by the transport department between mile markers 10 and 13, is 7.8 forested acres with picnicking, restrooms and an outlook along the northeast coast, open daylight hours and with no drinking water on site. At Wailua Valley State Wayside the whole park is 1.5 acres of viewpoint, pointed at Keanae Valley, the Koolau Gap and the taro fields at Wailua. Puaa Kaa State Wayside adds 5 acres of small waterfalls and pools. Slot the arboretum into the gap at 10.5 and you break up two hours of driving with the one stop where the walking is easy and the plants carry labels.
- Mile marker 2: Twin Falls, open from 7:10 a.m., no entry after 4:30 p.m., grounds cleared at 5:00 p.m.
- Mile markers 9.79 to 10: Waikamoi, alternating single lane 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays
- Mile marker 10.5: Garden of Eden Arboretum, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 26 acres
- Mile markers 10 to 13: Kaumahina State Wayside, legal parking and restrooms
- Just past mile marker 16: Keanae, where Aunty Sandy's runs Monday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The 4:00 p.m. gate decides your departure time
A 4:00 p.m. closing sounds generous until you work backwards. The 52 miles to Hana take two to four hours one way according to Hawaii's tourism authority, because 620 curves and 59 bridges, 46 of them wide enough for one car at a time, set the pace instead of the distance. Leave late, add the weekday lane closures at mile markers 9.79 to 10, 13.9 to 14.2 and 19.5 to 19.6 that run until 5 p.m., and a stop at 10.5 can be shut by the time you pull up, even though you are only ten and a half markers along the road.
The rest of the day has its own gates. Down at the black sand beach the hours are 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with nobody admitted after 5:30 p.m., and both entry and parking at Waianapanapa State Park need a reservation, released 30 days out at midnight Hawaii Standard Time. Kahanu Garden shuts at 3 p.m., Monday to Friday. Around the winter solstice the sun sets at Hana at about 5:48 p.m., so make the arboretum a mid-morning stop.
Pick one garden, and a tour that stops at it
Two botanical stops in one day is too many. Choose the arboretum at mile marker 10.5 if you want short level walking, the coastal and valley lookouts and the Keopuka Rock view, and it opens every day of the week. Choose Kahanu Garden at 650 Ulaino Road if Hawaiian history is the point: adults $18, nothing for children 12 and under, a weekday window from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that empties the garden by 3:30 p.m., roughly an hour of self-guided walking, and Piilanihale Heiau, held to be the largest ancient structure in Polynesia, standing on the grounds.
On its own page for the area, Hawaii's tourism authority points visitors toward a permitted guided tour in place of taking the wheel themselves. A guided day also removes the part that usually kills the botanical stop: reaching 10.5 behind a single-lane queue with half an eye on the clock. Itineraries differ between operators, so read the stop list before you book and look for a garden or arboretum on it.
The half-day private trip on this site suits the arboretum, since it starts at Island Fresh Cafe in Paia and works through the opening mile markers, which is where 10.5 sits. The 8 to 10 hour small-group day carries on to the far end of the road instead, with the fees and taxes already settled.
Questions people ask
Where exactly is the Garden of Eden on the Road to Hana?
At 10600 Hana Highway, Highway 360, mile marker 10.5. It comes after Twin Falls at mile marker 2 and after the Waikamoi stretch at mile markers 9.79 to 10, and before Kaumahina State Wayside, which the transport department places between markers 10 and 13. The mile markers on this part of the drive count along Route 360 rather than from Kahului.
Is the walking suitable for older visitors or small children?
Yes. The 26 acres are laid out as trails with lookouts, picnic tables and restrooms, so you can turn back whenever you like. Under-fives are not charged and ages 5 to 16 pay $10. The alternative later in the day, Pipiwai at Kipahulu, runs 4 miles round trip with 800 feet of climbing and a moderately strenuous rating.
Can I see Keopuka Rock without going in?
The viewpoints are inside the grounds, up above the highway. Stopping on the road for a look is not an option here. The official code of conduct says to park only in designated stalls and warns that vehicles protruding onto the highway can be towed, and there is active alternating single-lane work at mile markers 9.79 to 10 on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What happens if I arrive after 4:00 p.m.?
You do not get in. The hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, so a late start from Kahului writes this stop off, even though it sits only ten and a half markers along Route 360. Waianapanapa State Park stops admitting at 5:30 p.m. the same day, so start early.
Which is the better botanical stop, the arboretum or Kahanu Garden?
Take the arboretum for the easy walk, the lookouts and the fact that it opens every day. Take Kahanu Garden if Hawaiian history matters more: adults pay $18, children 12 and under are not charged, the gates keep a weekday schedule of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the garden cleared by 3:30 p.m., and the self-guided loop takes about an hour. Kahanu is closed at weekends, so check the day before you plan around it.
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