Our first stop in Maui (literally as soon as we left the airport) was Iao Valley. This lush, 4000 acre State Park is home to the 1200' Iao Needle. We walked the .6 mile paved pedestrian path to the view area for the needle then hopped over the fence to the trail through the lush jungle. After one hour we reached a summit with spectacular views of the needle and the valley. There were lots of muddy areas and the last .25 mile or so was very steep but well worth it.
Waimea Falls is a beautiful 45' waterfall in the Waimea Valley World Class Botanical Garden. The garden is relaxing, educational and AMAZING! The 1,875 acres has been a sacred place in Native Hawaiian history for more than 700 years. We walked 3/4 mile to reach the falls. You must wear a life jacket, which they issue to you. It took us awhile to wade into the pool since the water was freezing but after we were in, it wasn't so bad and we loved getting up close to the waterfall. The garden includes 78 Ancient Hawaiian Archaeological sites and more than 5,000 tropical and sub-tropical plants.
Crouching Lion is a hard to find trail near Kaaawa on O'ahu. It is not marked with any kind of sign so we finally found it by reading someone elses blog that gave great detail. We hiked the mini trail, about 30 minutes to the top of the crouching lion. The views are quite impressive and the trail is steep but easy to follow. There are ropes in a few places to help you get up and down the really steep places. I especially love jungle hikes where there is a lot of variation and shade. Coming from the desert, the jungle is exciting, lush and beautiful!
For directions go to www.UnrealHawaii.com
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Crouching Lion is a hard to find trail near Kaaawa on O'ahu. It is not marked with any kind of sign so we finally found it by reading someone elses blog that gave great detail. We hiked the mini trail, about 30 minutes to the top of the crouching lion. The views are quite impressive and the trail is steep but easy to follow. There are ropes in a few places to help you get up and down the really steep places. I especially love jungle hikes where there is a lot of variation and shade. Coming from the desert, the jungle is exciting, lush and beautiful! 
crou
The Makapu'u Lighthouse trail is a moderate 2 mile scenic trail on the Windward side of O'ahu. Not only do you get a nice view of the Lighthouse that was built in 1909 but we saw many Humpback whales since we were there in January. We also saw two smaller islands, Manana Island and Kaohikaipu Island also Molokai and Lani. The trail is paved making it more accessible for all ages and abilities. The lighthouse is off limits but you still get a nice view of it.
