It's all in the details!
Moanalua Gardens
2850-A Moanalua Road, Honolulu
A two-hour guided walk on the storied grounds of a public park in the Moanalua ahupuaʻa, just a few miles northwest of downtown Honolulu.
2850-A Moanalua Road, Honolulu
A two-hour guided walk on the storied grounds of a public park in the Moanalua ahupuaʻa, just a few miles northwest of downtown Honolulu.
- The land was part of a gift from Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop to Honolulu businessman Samuel Mills Damon, who first envisioned a multicultural botanical garden like those he had seen in his travels. The 24-acre Moanalua Gardens have continued to be maintained by the heirs to his estate for the public's recreation and enjoyment.
- The Garden is home to several 100+ year-old monkeypod trees, including the iconic “Hitachi Tree,” a popular destination for visitors from Japan, as well as one of the Stateʻs designated “exceptional trees.”
- We'll begin our tour by making our way from the entrance, past several historic structures (one of them the former summer cottage of King Kamehameha V), to gather near the koi pond and kalo loʻi (taro patch).
- We'll then proceed on a leisurely stroll through less traversed areas on the grounds, enjoying the company of various native and tropical trees, and end with a forest tea and light refreshments in the shade.
- Onsite parking is free. Driving directions will be included in confirmation email.
KAHALUʻU GALLERY AND GARDENS
47-754 Lamaula Road, Kaneʻohe
Located in a residential neighborhood on the Windward side of O‘ahu, this is the former home, studio, and gallery of well-known oil painters Hiroshi Tagami and Michael Powell. Featuring a wide variety of exotic and beautiful plants and flowers, some specimens even created by the late Mr. Tagami, Kahalu‘u Gallery and Gardens is a one-acre work of art in three dimensions.
47-754 Lamaula Road, Kaneʻohe
Located in a residential neighborhood on the Windward side of O‘ahu, this is the former home, studio, and gallery of well-known oil painters Hiroshi Tagami and Michael Powell. Featuring a wide variety of exotic and beautiful plants and flowers, some specimens even created by the late Mr. Tagami, Kahalu‘u Gallery and Gardens is a one-acre work of art in three dimensions.
- On your forest bathing walk, you'll travel through the grounds and follow the paved switchback which descends into the forested gully at the back of the property.
- On December 5, we reprise our previously sold-out event Forest Bathed in Watercolor. Artist/educator Tamara Moan gives a watercolor painting workshop inspired by the sounds of the forest/garden.
- Following the walk, you'll get exclusive access to the art gallery, where you'll find paintings and prints by Tagami and Powell, as well as the work of nature photographer Nate Yuen, plus sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry by other local artists. (The gallery and gardens are usually open by appointment only.)
- Free on-street parking.
CAMP PALEHUA
1 Palehua Road, Kapolei
This historic mountain retreat lies on the southern slopes of the Waiʻanae Mountains above Makakilo. Oral histories tell us that Palehua was once an ancient warrior training site. Known as Camp Timberline, it has been remembered fondly by local families since the 1940s as a youth camp and school retreat. In 2016, new owners Gill ‘Ewa Lands LLC renamed it Camp Palehua and shifted the focus of the camp and the surrounding 1,600-acres toward Hawaiian culture and native forest conservation.
1 Palehua Road, Kapolei
This historic mountain retreat lies on the southern slopes of the Waiʻanae Mountains above Makakilo. Oral histories tell us that Palehua was once an ancient warrior training site. Known as Camp Timberline, it has been remembered fondly by local families since the 1940s as a youth camp and school retreat. In 2016, new owners Gill ‘Ewa Lands LLC renamed it Camp Palehua and shifted the focus of the camp and the surrounding 1,600-acres toward Hawaiian culture and native forest conservation.
- This experience honors two practices: relational forest therapy as developed by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and Quiet Park International's soundwalk.
- On your Forest Bathing + Soundwalk, we'll hike slowly through eucalyptus forests to a spectacular vista of the Waiʻanae range and coastline. The Nanakuli Lookout Trail is approximately 2 miles, out and back. Rated a moderate-easy hike, it has a dirt path with an elevation gain of 958 feet. It is partly exposed, partly shaded by tree canopy. (see image on this page)
- Forest Bathing Hawaiʻi has nominated the trail as a Quiet Parks International Quiet Trail where one can experience the sounds of nature with little human-made noise.
- On the guided walk, we will practice listening, opening our other senses, and through a variety of interactive "invitations," exploring our relationship to the natural world. You'll be encouraged to remain silent for most of the time, though there'll also be opportunities to share with others when we gather together to reflect.
- Your certified forest therapy guide may also offer poetry or moʻolelo (stories/history) of the land to deepen your experience of inner quiet and a sense of place.
- Total length of experience: about 2 hours.
- Parking at the base camp is free, but limited -- carpooling is encouraged. Entry to this private property is gated and requires a passcode which you'll receive on completion of registration requirements.
- Restrooms are available at Camp; none on the trail.
- This hike requires good physical fitness, and, for the safety of the group, if it is apparent that you are unable to traverse the inclined terrain of the campgrounds, you will not be allowed to participate in the hike/walk. Guideʻs determination is final.
FOREST BATHING IN A RAIN FOREST
- Commercial tours at the University of Hawaiʻi's Lyon Arboretum were suspended at the end of September 2024.
