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Iao Valley State Park, Maui


Silver Sweethearts
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  • 2 weeks later...
Just a note for those contemplating a visit - The Maui News reported this morning that the Iao Valley State Park will remain closed for four to six months due to flood damage.

 

Well that is disappointing news. We will be there in December. We planned to rent a car and visit Iao Valley State Park. Thanks for the heads up. We have time to come up with another plan.

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Just heard about this - now I need alternative Maui plans before the luau. :(

 

Well that is disappointing news. We will be there in December. We planned to rent a car and visit Iao Valley State Park. Thanks for the heads up. We have time to come up with another plan.

 

 

It has been many years since we have visited Iao, but I still remember being underwhelmed by the visit and confused as to the reason for all the hype about this place. A pretty view, but there is nothing there which could not be taken in during a 15 minute visit before moving on to see any number of spectacular things elsewhere.

 

I hope no one is planning to make this place the primary focus of tour plans for Maui. It's just a very short, pleasant stop on the way to somewhere else.

Edited by punkincc
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Well that is disappointing news. We will be there in December. We planned to rent a car and visit Iao Valley State Park. Thanks for the heads up. We have time to come up with another plan.

 

Consider a drive "upcountry" to Paia and then onward to Makawao. Both are small walkable villages with some unique shops, eateries, and Aloha Spirit. From there you could continue the drive to Kula, and simply enjoy the beauty of mother nature. Or you could take a different drive down south by the ocean through Kehei and Makena and again enjoy mother nature. Nothing (except Hana) is "far" from anything else.

 

Just give yourself time to get to the luau (I assume it's in Lahaina) because there's literally only one road in to Lahaina and around Maalaea it gets to be pretty traffic jammed until around Olowalu (it adds about 25 minutes to the drive - that's about a 9 mile stretch), but then mellows out again.

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It has been many years since we have visited Iao, but I still remember being underwhelmed by the visit and confused as to the reason for all the hype about this place. A pretty view, but there is nothing there which could not be taken in during a 15 minute visit before moving on to see any number of spectacular things elsewhere.

 

I hope no one is planning to make this place the primary focus of tour plans for Maui. It's just a very short, pleasant stop on the way to somewhere else.

 

I did not see anyone say it was there primary reason for stopping in Maui. :rolleyes:

In defense of the valley it's an enjoyable stop and also of historical significance that fits into a day of exploring.

 

If you only spent 15 minutes it's understandable why you were "underwhelmed".

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In September we loved Iao Valley so much we went back and spent a long time there exploring.

 

While it could be a "15 minute" stop, it would be shame. The Cultural Park - Kepaniwai Park is on the same road to Iao and is beautiful in and of itself. The area is teeming with history.

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Consider a drive "upcountry" to Paia and then onward to Makawao. Both are small walkable villages with some unique shops, eateries, and Aloha Spirit. From there you could continue the drive to Kula, and simply enjoy the beauty of mother nature. Or you could take a different drive down south by the ocean through Kehei and Makena and again enjoy mother nature. Nothing (except Hana) is "far" from anything else.

 

Just give yourself time to get to the luau (I assume it's in Lahaina) because there's literally only one road in to Lahaina and around Maalaea it gets to be pretty traffic jammed until around Olowalu (it adds about 25 minutes to the drive - that's about a 9 mile stretch), but then mellows out again.

 

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll check into these places.

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I did not see anyone say it was there primary reason for stopping in Maui. :rolleyes:

In defense of the valley it's an enjoyable stop and also of historical significance that fits into a day of exploring.

 

If you only spent 15 minutes it's understandable why you were "underwhelmed".

 

 

Two people on this thread mentioned Iao and the need to make "other plans". One had nothing else in her day except for an evening luau, or it appears so from the post. I never indicated that IAO could not be a worthwhile part of someone's tour plans on Maui. Just indicating that it is not, IMO, something which should be the whole of your plan for Maui, especially if you have seen nothing else, and may never return to Maui again. It would be a little like going to the Thurston Lava Tube on Hawaii, a very valuable thing to see, but then turning around and going back to the ship without seeing the volcano or any of the falls, etc.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hope it's open by May as we had planned on going there while in Maui. We did the Road to Hana and Haleakala last time.

The last estimate I read was it'd take about 2-3 months so it should be ready by May.

 

There have been protests recently about how the damage is being repaired. It's not unusual for construction plans to take much longer than anticipated but would expect I'ao Valley to be open by May.

 

May is one of our least crowded months here on Maui so you're arriving at a good time. :D

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  • 2 months later...
Any update? The website says that it is closed indefinitely.

 

Aloha Karysa - Try googling "Maui Now: Iao Valley closed". There are other websites, but that one seems to have the latest news. Really haven't found anything more recent. They seem to be stuck in 2016. For whatever it is worth, we have found Maui Now to get the same information as The Maui News.

Edited by Silver Sweethearts
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Aloha Karysa - Try googling "Maui Now: Iao Valley closed". There are other websites, but that one seems to have the latest news. Really haven't found anything more recent. They seem to be stuck in 2016. For whatever it is worth, we have found Maui Now to get the same information as The Maui News.

 

:)Thank you for checking. That must have been some flooding. I would like to visit at the end of April but if it's not ready yet then it will be a good reason to plan for another vacation to Hawaii.

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  • 6 months later...

Here's the latest update for the reopening of Iao Valley.

 

"The state has pushed back the reopening of ʻĪao Valley State monument to early August of 2017 amid ongoing repairs and interim improvements. Earlier projections had indicated that the monument area that includes the portion of the valley above the Nature Center would reopen in mid-July".

http://mauinow.com/2017/07/19/iao-valley-monument-reopening-pushed-to-august-2017/

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  • 2 weeks later...

‘Īao Valley State Monument “Soft Re-Opening” Set for Saturday

 

ʻĪao Valley State Monument will be open to the public again at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, following Phase I of repairs after a severe flood that caused millions of dollars in damage throughout the valley in September of last year.

ʻĪao Valley State Monument will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. The county’s Kepaniwai Park below the Hawaiʻi Nature Center has been open since April, 2017, after seven month closure. The Kepaniwai hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

http://mauinow.com/2017/08/04/breaking-iao-valley-state-monument-soft-re-opening-set-for-saturday/

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That is great news on many levels. Not the least of which is we are planning to be there in September.

Hopefully you'll be able to visit there because the work has not been completed & apparently it will close again after permits are issued. So the definition of a soft re-opening is vague.

 

"The “soft re-opening” is only temporary until additional required permits are finalized for additional work involving the stabilization of a slope just downhill from the garden area".

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Additional information on closing the park again possibly later this year because all repairs have not been completed.

 

"The state continues making repairs in areas of the park, but because of pending permit approvals to complete the project, officials with the department’s Division of State Parks decided to reopen Iao for residents and visitors during a hiatus in construction work.

Officials said they expect construction work to resume sometime this fall.

Later this year, the State Parks Division will hold a community meeting to explain a second phase of work. It will require the park to close again".

 

http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2017/08/iao-valley-reopens-today-at-least-temporarily/

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Additional information on closing the park again possibly later this year because all repairs have not been completed.

 

"The state continues making repairs in areas of the park, but because of pending permit approvals to complete the project, officials with the department’s Division of State Parks decided to reopen Iao for residents and visitors during a hiatus in construction work.

Officials said they expect construction work to resume sometime this fall.

Later this year, the State Parks Division will hold a community meeting to explain a second phase of work. It will require the park to close again".

 

http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2017/08/iao-valley-reopens-today-at-least-temporarily/

 

Thanks for the update... We will keep our fingers crossed. But given that this is our first trip to the area I am sure there will still be plenty to do and see.

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