On our last day in Maui, we took a few hours to visit the Iao Valley/ Iao Needle State Park conveniently located just a few miles west of Wailuku. The admission is $5.00 per car and parking is very accessible. You can see most of the beauty from the parking lot or take the trails past streams and beautiful flora.... More

I'm surprised that the reviews for this site are not more positive. I found Iao Valley to be a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. Aside from the impressive Iao Needle (which gets top billing), there are hundreds and thousands of plants, bushes, and flowers. The scents and colors are intoxicating. This park is a lush, tropical paradise. You could... More

This park was really pretty, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. I wish we'd just stopped by on our way to the airport. It sounds like that's the way to go. It literally only takes about a half hour. You can see the needle from the parking lot (which costs $5). There is a short... More

Iao Valley, which is a very small valley, costs the visitor $5 to visit at the time of this writing (May 2012). The Valley is the site of an anciet battlefield and as such has a historical significance. The centerpiece for the valley is the Iao Needle, a rock spire that served as a lookout point during the battle. There... More

We visited Iao Valley State Park just before we left Maui. We almost did not visit it. There is a fee $5 per car to be paid in a machine. The setting is quite magnificent. Very tropical and one can imagine the original Hawaiian people considering this a very emotional and culturally important place. You can see the beautiful mountain... More

This is a small valley not far from the airport. It should not take more than a half hour to walk the short trail and climb some steps and see the valley. When you return to your car look up between the mountains and get a nice view of Kahului.

Up a small historical valley to many lush gardens, take along rain gear just in case, lots of photo opts, would go again just for fun! Mornings seem to be better for skies than afternoons and evenings.

This is an easy walk up to see the needle.There are an additional 133 stairs to go higher up but not needed. A lovely stream goes through the area and there is an old hawaiian living site.

Easy to find. We didn't spend a lot of time here since it was kind of a rainy day, but we got excellent views of the Iao Needle, falls, etc. Because of the weather we didn't hike the trails much, but there were several areas I would have liked to explore more. Very much enjoyed it.