Iao Valley State Monument

The Iao Valley State Monument in Maui is the site of the 1790 Battle of Kepaniwai. The valley was created by the erosion of the West Maui mountains. It features the 2250 foot tall Iao Needle. Iao means “cloud supreme” which refers to the clouds you can see over the valley.

Admission is $5 with a $1.15 fee making it $6.15. You can get your ticket online here. For transportation I used Lyft which was $13 from the Maui Mall to the park and $18 back.

I am going to cover this entire path as well as a detour into the woods and onto the rocks in the Kahawai Stream. At a minimum you want to check out the garden and the lookout which can be done in a half hour.

Here are some views from the bridge.

I am heading up to the lookout.

This is a look back at the parking lot from the lookout. The garden is down below so it’s a very compact area. There isn’t a lot of walking required to see this.

This is the view of the Iao Needle from the lookout.

I am heading back down and I’ll follow the path.

There’s a rope swing if you want to swing over the stream.

I’m going out on the rocks.

I’m not going that far. I don’t want to get wet today.

You can’t get over there without getting wet.

I’m on my way back and people are using the rope swing to enter the stream.

I went off path a little bit this time.

And we’re back. I’m going to head down to the garden.

That is the garden. Let’s check it out.

I wouldn’t plan I having nice bathrooms here. I’ve heard these are typically closed. They have portable bathrooms in the parking lot.

This is a very compact area so it doesn’t take long to see. I only spent about 35 minutes here. You can do it in less than that if you just go to the garden and the lookout. I spent about $42 on entry and transportation (Lyft).