Liliuokalani Botanical Garden

My family and I have been to all of the public botanical gardens here on Oahu. By far, Liliuokalani Botanical Garden is our least favorite of all the locations. Don't get me wrong, it is a BEAUTIFUL garden, fairly well maintained. It is the smallest of them all, as far as I know; and the fact that it's pretty well hidden in the middle of Kalihi is pretty cool. This garden boasts more native plants and a pretty waterfall, and they aren't wrong. But, this garden didn't have as many signs naming the plants and information like the others. The restrooms, both of them, were closed and boarded up, and there were lots of chronics hanging around in the garden too. (One of them even started a fire in the garden while I was there with my family. And yes, 911 was called.)It was a nice experience, otherwise, but I think we'll be sticking to Hoomaluhia, Koko Crater, Foster, and Wahiawa Botanical Gardens instead.

Cute little spot! Brought my mom to go for walk outside. All the trees and plants were beautiful. We were blessed to run into the waterfall. If you get a chance to visit this is a good one! Free parking.

When you need a slight escape from the city...Liliuokalani Botanical Garden is literally a hidden oasis right in the midst of Liliha that I've driven by countless of times and who knew all this seriously existed...not me!Yes I've read other reviews of this area and I agree every bit of it is true and not for one to expect the lush serendipity of a tropical garden escape by any means but yes there are a few parking a well maintained small lot and yes it's free to the public making it a "public issue" along with all the nonsense. The graffiti on the bridges are sad to see and random homeless folks I didn't see on this occasion though there were folks just enjoying the grassy portion of the park which is right along the waterfall...yes there is one here!There is a parking lot right off N Kuakini St with a sign as well so you can't miss it and as you enter the park you'll see a path that will lead you down a pathway to a bridge that will take you across the stream to a fully grassy area no pathway on this side and there are a few picnic tables though in the elements you probably better of bringing your own chair or blankets if you choose to chill here.Front the bridge itself you're able to see a beautiful waterfall which I totally didn't expect and it was actually beautiful and calming to see though this area is filled with lots of greenery so along with that are a lot of little bugs flying around which got seriously annoying.There was a nice selection of trees and flowers all along the entire gardens which I seriously wasn't expecting much though at the time most of the flowers was starting to wither away which is amazing it withstood the heat we've been having. No this isn't a place to bring the fam for picnics but is a lovely place and hope all the negativity doesn't make it one to avoid.Thank you!

Unsure how this is considered a Botanical Garden. Nothing to see here except the little waterfall. Even that wasn't worth the stop unfortunately. The "river" was full of trash and at the other end you can see homeless encampment. Which doesn't bother me, smart choice on their part. Just wouldn't call this a garden.

Mother Nature in the middle of Honolulu, Hawaii...We had about an hour before we were to meet for breakfast. Our group discussed what to do. I suggested Liliuokalani Botanical Garden because I had heard about it, but never had time to explore...Now is the time!There's a free parking lot right in front of the garden! Yay! We saw a convenient restroom facility, found a paved path, and walked down the slight incline. Passing by some people practicing graceful Tai chi skills, we strolled amidst the soft sounds of running water. Later on, the path curved and had handrails. Some of the plants that we passed had labels next to them - very educational!At the end of the path, we saw another stone building (probably a restroom) and a couple of picnic tables and benches... And a waterfall in the distance!!!It was so beautiful and breathtaking! Wow!!!If I'm not mistaken... when I took Hawaiian class in elementary school... our teacher mentioned that Queen Liliuokalani used to bathe/swim here. I can understand why... This place is suited for a Queen!Queen Liliuokalani Botanical Garden is approximately named! Come check out this free oasis!

One of the free botanical gardens with a free parking lot. It was a nice walk with a waterfall at the end...Until....We got yelled at by a random homeless person by the bridge and really startled us. He was cursing at us to get out and started to almost chase us. Very dirty the closer you go the streams. Would advise not taking your keiki here! It felt unsafe. Would not go back due to that encounter! This might be one of the worst botanical gardens I've ever visited. Hopefully they're able to clean up the space and enforce more safe protocols for locals there.

This garden is not very big but is beautiful on its own. Parking is pretty scarce with a constant flow of people coming and going. We enjoyed the little signs along the way that told you what some of the plants are and listening to the flow of the water. It was also nice to see kids playing and having fun. With that being said, the reason I'm giving 3 stars is because this place had a ton of homeless people. I wouldn't normally mind but we tried to look at the waterfall earlier and there was a homeless man bathing nude in the waterfall while kids were playing there. I was taken aback by it, mainly because I wasn't expecting it. We walked back up and waited until he was finished and covered before we headed back to the bridge to take pictures. The parents of the kids playing didn't mind him but I personally didn't want my toddler daughter getting an eye full of a man's private areas. Other than that we really enjoyed ourselves. I would recommend coming here but it's not worth fighting for parking and beware of your surroundings.

What a relaxing, beautiful garden! Light on planted stuff and heavy on nature. The trees alone are breathtaking and huge in scope! The mini waterfall is nice and the entire park is mellow and inviting. The stream that goes down the center reminds you are the "olden days" of playing down by the water. I wish the plants had more signs, perhaps talking about why this plant/tree was chosen. Lots of trees are not marked and another thing.... the restrooms were boarded up - thus the minus of a star.But this place is free and a great place to relax!

If this is just a park, it gets 5 stars. There are a lot of plants and trees in one portion of the park, but most of this area is a open grass field between apartment complexes and a stream. If you're looking for different types of plants you need to pony up a few bucks for Fosters Garden which is close by. The park is right across the Rehab of the Pacific. The park looked underwhelming at first, since it's aligned with a apartment building. Then I see a bridge and another park across the stream which was super nice. I think the walk to get to the end across the stream is worth it as a nice place to eat lunch or play. The bridge goes over a stream and you can also access the stream in a few places. There is also a small waterfall you can walk up to. If you look downstream you will see a few makeshift tents by vagrants. There were a few of them in the park yelling at each other, so be prepared for that. But everybody kept to themselves. I think the pictures speak for themselves, it's a stellar park. It's a totally hidden park in Kalihi. Just don't come here thinking there will be tons of different flora and fauna.

8/6/21 9am. We drove from the Westside early to avoid traffic and make it to the drs appt. We had some time to kill so decided to check this place out. Absolutely beautiful. It's small and you could walk on the paths in less than 20 minutes. Park gates open at7 am and close at 5 pm. Restrooms are also locked up too which helps to keep it clean for park users. Lots of new plantings being established alongside the river and walking path and throughout the park!