Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden occupies a 17-acre coastal rainforest valley in Onomea, on Hawaii's Big Island, where more than 2,500 tropical and subtropical plant species grow along 1.25 miles of trails. The garden was established in 1984 by Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse, who spent years transforming the Onomea Valley by hand into the lush, accessible landscape it is today. The setting moves from canopied jungle paths down to the valley floor, where mountain-fed streams and the three-tiered Onomea Falls open onto views of Onomea Bay along the Hamakua Coast. The garden is a private, independent nonprofit, drawing approximately 125,000 visitors annually from around the world.