One of the really interesting things that you get to experience when you travel around the world is the variety of plant life that exists in the world. Botanical Gardens are a lot like museums of plants and so they are a great way to see a lot of different types of flora all at once. While we were on Oahu last year we were able to visit the spectacular Wahiawa Botanical Garden and learn a lot more about Hawaii’s plants.

How to Get to Wahiawa Botanical Garden

The Wahiawa Botanical Garden is located almost smack dab in the middle of Oahu. It is actually a pretty convenient stop if you are traveling from Honolulu to the North Shore or vice versa via the H2 freeway. We stopped there on our way back from Pearl Harbor to the house we were staying at on the North Shore.

You take the exit off the H2 to get to the town of Wahiawa in the center of the island. Then you take Highway 80 to California Avenue. Turn right on to California and follow the road until you arrive at the parking lot for the Botanical Garden.

At first we were confused about where the entrance to the botanical garden was, we thought we needed to cross the bridge by the parking lot, but there is actually a building that you go through to get inside.

What You will See at the Wahiawa Botanical Garden

The garden is pretty extensive, covering more than 27 acres. It is a rain forest environment with paths running around and through a ravine.

In the main terrace area the paths are paved and accessible. If you venture down in to the ravine you need to be able to go up and down some fairly steep stairs.

Their is a walking tour on the brochure that will primarily take you on the paved paths. We went through most of this area. There were some paths that we could not take Lucy’s stroller on.

I did do a little bit of exploring down in the gulch while the rest of the group stayed up at the top. We were there in mid march and there were lots of different kinds of tropical flowers in bloom around the garden.

Sum Up

The Wahiawa Botanical Garden is a great place to visit. You can spend as long as you want there since there are easy trails in the main terrace or longer trails through and across the ravine. Since visiting the garden is free there is really no reason not to stop by and see it.