The Big Island has more botanical gardens than any other Hawaiian island, which makes sense given the climate. The Hilo and Hamakua coasts sit in one of the wettest regions in the world, and the result is rainforest-level density of tropical plants growing in conditions most gardens elsewhere can only approximate.
Most of the gardens are on the east side. If you’re based in Kona, the drive to the best ones runs 1.5 to 2 hours each way, but several are worth building a day around.
Admission ranges from free to $30 per adult. The free options are genuinely good.
Table of contents
Table of Contents
- Map of Botanical gardens
- List of Botanical gardens
- Other worthwhile gardens
- Arboretums
- Botanical Gardens vs. Gardens vs. Arboretums: what is the difference?
Map of Botanical Gardens on the Big Island
There are botanical gardens spread all over the Big Island, and you will very likely pass close by a couple of them during your travels on the island. Visiting one during your stay then only takes some smart planning using the following map of botanical gardens on the Big Island.
On the following map, botanical gardens are marked as a pink flower, normal gardens are marked with a green flower, and arboretums are marked with a dark green palm tree.
Each of the gardens is described in more detail below.
List of Botanical Gardens on the Big Island
You can find the following botanical gardens on the Big Island. Most botanical gardens are close to Hilo, but you can also find two close to Kona, and even one in the hot and dry Kohala coast.
- Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Gardens
- Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo & Botanical Gardens
- Botanical gardens at the University of Hilo
- World botanical gardens
- Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden
- Sadie Seymour botanical gardens
- Nani Mau botanical gardens
- Paleaku gardens
1: Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Gardens (Hilo/Hamakua)
The best botanical garden on the island, and one of the better ones in the United States. Forty acres along the Hamakua coast with more than 2,000 tropical plant species, including collections you won’t find grouped together anywhere else. The setting helps: the garden runs down a valley with a stream at the bottom, so you move through distinct microclimates as you descend.
Admission: $35 adults, $25 children ages 6 to 12. Open daily 10am to 6pm. Located off Highway 19 between mile markers 7 and 8, north of Hilo. Budget at least two hours.
Website: Hawaii tropical Bioreserve & gardens.
Good to know: This is hands-down our favorite botanical garden on the Big Island and is also one of our 5 favorite short hikes on the Big Island. If you don’t like walking that much you can also see it as part of one of our favorite scenic drives.
Path in the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Gardens near Hilo, Hawaii
The lush Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Gardens are our favorite place on the Big Island to admire the plants and flowers from the rainforest
2: Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo & Botanical Gardens (Hilo)
The only tropical rainforest zoo in the United States. The botanical side of this Hilo zoo includes more than 100 palm varieties, orchids, bromeliads, and sections of native forest. The zoo adds a layer that makes it work well for families.
While walking through the park (reserve about 1 hour) you can see over 100 types of palm and many varieties of vireya (tropical rhododendron), bamboo, orchids, and bromeliads. There also is a small native forest of trees and plants and an agro-forest of edible varieties.
Admission and directions:
You can find the Pana’ewa zoo just south of Hilo at: 800 Stainback Highway, Hilo, HI 96720. They are open daily 9am to 4pm, admission if $4 for island residents and $13 for visitors.
Read more about the Panaʻwa zoo on our website or visit the official Panaʻewa zoo website here.
The Panaʻewa rainforest zoo is a zoological and botanical park specializing in rainforest and native species.
The Panaʻewa zoo is located in the lush and tropical forests just south of Hilo (Big Island, Hawai’i)
3: Botanical Gardens at the University of Hawaii (Hilo)
The botanical gardens at UH Hilo were started around 1990 by Don Hemmes, one of the professors of the UH when a student in a freshman biology course asked him “What’s a pine tree?“.
The UH Hilo Botanical Gardens consist of three separate areas that feature cycads, bromeliads, and palms. Currently, they include one of the largest collections of cycads in Hawai’i with over 100 species. One section of the garden has over 40 species of Zamia from Mexico and Central and South America and other sections contain rare and endangered Encephalartos and Stangeria from Africa, Macrozamia, Lepidozamia, and Bowenia from Australia, and Cycas from China and Vietnam.
Admission and directions:
The university welcomes visitors every day of the week and admission to the gardens is free. The largest garden is located off Lanikaula Street, between the Science and Technology Bldg and the Hale Kehau Dining Room at the Nowelo street entrance.
Please note that visitors who wish to park on campus during business hours may need a valid parking pass (see current parking requirements on the UH campus here). A daily parking pass can be purchased for $3.00 and obtained at the parking booth at the main entrance to campus, which is located off of Kawili Street.
The Botanical Gardens at the University of Hilo (West Lanikaula St. with Nowelo St.). Entrance is free but for parking in the UH Hilo premises a parking pass is needed. Image adapted from google street view
4: World Botanical Gardens (Hilo/Hamakua)
The largest botanical garden on the island at 300 acres, though much of that is undeveloped land. The main draws are Kamaʻeʻe Falls, visible from an overlook on the property, and a 10-acre maze that works well for kids. The gardens themselves are decent but less curated than Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve. Worth a stop if you’re already on the Hamakua coast.
Admission and directions for the World Botanical Gardens
Situated on Highway 19 just 16 miles (26 km) north of Hilo, the gardens sit between the slopes of Mauna Kea and the Pacific Ocean.
You can buy a self-guided garden tour day pass for $15 (adults), $7.50 (13 to 17 y/o). You can also see the gardens as part of a zip line guided tour. For more information and online bookings see here.
5: Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden (Captain Cook/south Kona)
A different kind of garden. The focus is on the 200-plus plant species that grew in traditional Kona farms and native forests before European contact, so this is as much a history visit as a botanical one. Most self-guided visitors spend a half-hour to an hour at the Garden. There are panels around a short looping trail at the center of the garden. Plants throughout the garden have labels that explore their traditional uses.
Located in Captain Cook, South Kona. Check current hours on their website before visiting
If you are passing by, you can also stop at the Kona coffee living history farm across the street for a Kona coffee farm tour.
6: Sadie Seymour Botanical Gardens (Kona)
Small at 1.5 acres, but free and conveniently located in Kona. The garden is laid out in ecosystem terraces, so you move through distinct planting zones in a short walk. Good option for visitors based on the west side who don’t want to drive to Hilo for a garden visit.
The property is also home to the Kona Outdoor Educational Center and a Thrift store. The botanical gardens can be difficult to find because of the lack of signage if you don’t use GPS. Keep your eyes open for the thrift store flag at the top of the driveway and park on the upper level for the garden.
If you pass by and like to see botanical gardens make sure to stop here, but don’t plan your trip around these gardens. The botanical gardens at the Hilo side (especially the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens) are far more impressive.
Admission and directions:
- Admission to the Sadie Seymour Botanical Gardens is free but donations are accepted.
- Address: 76-6280 Kuakini Hwy, Kona Outdoor Circle Educational Center. Phone number: 808-329-7286.
- website or Facebook page.
7: Paleaku Gardens Peace Sanctuary (Captain Cook, south Kona)
Seven acres in South Kona with endemic Hawaiian plants alongside a collection of multi-denominational spiritual sculptures. The combination is unusual and the garden has a distinctly different atmosphere from the larger, more visitor-oriented options.
You can read more about the Paleaku gardens in this Ke Ola Magazine article, or get a preview of the gardens with this virtual tour (using google maps).
Admission, opening hours, and directions:
You can find the Paleaku gardens at 83-5401 Painted Church Road in Captain Cook. This is right in the middle of two of our favorite snorkeling spots and close to the picturesque small painted church. Admission to the gardens is $12 for adults but several discounts are available.
The gardens are open to the public Tuesday – Saturday between 9:00 and 4:00 pm and can be explored as part of a self-guided tour. Reservations for guided tours can be made upon request.
Website of the Paleaku gardens.
Gardens on the Big Island
The following two places are certainly worth the visit but don’t have as primary purpose the education of the visitor and the conservation and display of many plants and flowers.
1: Liliʻuokalani Gardens (Hilo)
Technically a Japanese garden park rather than a botanical garden, but worth including for the setting alone. Thirty acres of koi ponds, stone bridges, pagodas, and a tea house along the Hilo bayfront. Free to enter. One of the largest Japanese gardens outside Japan and a good stop to pair with a visit to downtown Hilo or Coconut Island nearby.
Both the gardens and the island are good places to take a break when visiting Hilo, for example for a picnic lunch.
Hilo Bay from Liliʻuokalani Gardens. Image adapted from work by AlaskaDave – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
2: Akatsuka orchid gardens (Volcano)
A working commercial orchid nursery in the Volcano area that offers garden tours. The scale of the orchid cultivation is impressive if you’re interested in the plants. Entrance fee applies. Good add-on if you’re visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is nearby.
Read more about the Akatsuka orchid gardens on our website.
3: The Waimea Nature Park – Ulu Laʻau (Waimea)
Ten acres at 2,600 feet elevation in Waimea, focused on native Hawaiian plant education. Free admission with self-guided tour booklets available at the entrance. The cooler upland climate means the plants here are quite different from what you’ll see in the Hilo gardens. Compact and easy to walk through in an hour.
Read more about the park on the Waimea Nature Park website or in this great article in the Ke Ola magazine.
Arboretums on the Big Island
The three arboretums on the island are less visited and more utilitarian than the botanical gardens, but they’re all free and genuinely
interesting if you want to get into native forest.
1: Kalopa state recreation area and arboretum
The arboretum is located inside the Kalopa State Recreation Area, approximately 40 miles northwest of Hilo. The park is 2,000 feet high (weather: damp and cold) and a number of rare plants can be found in the arboretum area, including endangered loulu palms, as well as a number of rare native hibiscus.
There is also an easy 0.7-mile loop trail through a forest of native ʻohiʻa lehua trees in the park.
As part of the arboretum you can find picnic tables, restrooms, and campsites (permit required) in the park.
Kalopa state recreation area website.
You can also explore the arboretum as part of a digital walking tour.
2: Manuka State Wayside Park and arboretum
The Manuka state wayside park is surrounded by the 35.000 acres Manuka Forest Reserve, Manuka State Wayside Park is 13.4 acres with an arboretum. The park also features the Manuka Nature Trail, a two-mile nature hike through the adjacent Manuka Natural Area Reserve which offers an experience in Hawaiian natural history.
Camping (with permit) is also possible in the Manuka state park.
3: Hilo Nursery arboretum
Also known as the Hilo Division of Forestry & Wildlife Arboretum, you can find the Hilo Nursery Arboretum in the heart of Hilo. Here, more than 50 trees are scattered across 19.4-acres. There are no organized tours but you are invited to explore on your own. Pass by the office for a sheet that matches species to the numbers on the actual plants and trees.
Read more about visiting the Hilo Nursery Arboretum.
Botanical gardens, gardens, and arboretums. What is the difference?
Botanical gardens are curated plant collections maintained for education, research, and conservation. Arboretums focus specifically on trees and woody plants. The distinction mostly matters for what you’ll find inside, not how interesting the visit is.