Where will be walking?
HAROLD L. LYON ARBORETUM (3860 Mānoa Road)
- Lyon Arboretum lies deep in the rain forests of Mānoa Valley in Honolulu, on the island of O‘ahu. The setting is dramatic, surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Open to the public, yet still a relatively unknown destination, this nearly 200-acre tropical botanical garden with 2,000 species of trees onsite and lots of bird life is an ideal forest bathing location.
- Over the course of 2 hours, we'll traverse less than a mile across terrain with some very slight elevation changes
- Parking is free at the Arboretum. The entrance is also just half a mile from a City bus stop (#5 Ala Moana/Mānoa). NOTE: Please go past the paid parking lot for the former Treetops Restaurant, where hikers to Mānoa Falls often park. Continue to the very end of Mānoa Road where you'll see the trailhead sign for Mānoa Falls. To your left, you'll see a gate for Lyon Arboretum.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyon Arboretum is limiting the number of people on its grounds and the length of their stay. Plan to arrive and check in at the front gate around 8:45am. Latecomers will find the gate closed at 9:15am.
- Meet your guide at the Visitor Center, at the far end of the Arboretum parking lot.
KAHALU‘ U GALLERY AND GARDENS very limited availability
- 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 2-hour 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.
- 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 sculpture, ceramics, photography, and jewelry by other local artists. (The gallery and gardens are usually open by appointment only.)
- Free on-street parking.
