The Queen Kapiolani Gardens is a hidden gem that most residents and visitors seem to miss when they're out sightseeing the island and seeing the top 10 spots on Oahu. But if you are like and need that quiet place, sans the beach for your quinessential stress relief, I was pleasantly surprised at the atmosphere and the escape from normal life that this botanical garden has to offer. Granted that it's not as lush as Ho'omaluhia in Kaneohe, but it has it's place in urban Honolulu for everyone to enjoy. Thankful that I now know this place, so when I need to escape, I can come to this place. The big sticking point to this place was that it's FREE. Yup, FREE. No need to pay to enjoy public spaces and enjoy nature at it's most awesomest. Thank goodness for that. The Queen Kapiolani Garden is basically a part of the Queen Kapiolani regional park, but it doesn't really look it, but it is - since it's kind of separated by a street a block away from the actual park itself. The park itself houses an outstanding array of the hibiscus, which is the official state flower of Hawaii. Among other gems that this garden holds is the the fact of just indeniable collection of roses of all kinds. Some of the most pretty and beautiful specimens are here in bloom. The story goes that King David Kalaukaua owned the lands of Queen Kapiolani regional Park and the adjacent garden, but donated the lands for public use in the late 1800's. He named the garden in honor after his wife, the Queen Kapiolani. There's nothing like being here and it's nice to be able to escape here and be one with myself. The Queen Kapiolani Garden is open 24/7, so that's pretty cool - although why would you be here at night when it can get a bit creepy and lonely. With that said, the Queen Kapiolani Garden should be added to your weekly or monthly escape, just because it just may be the thing you need to lift your spirits and remind yourself that everything in life has a purpose and it should revitalize yourself for the week ahead to just be strong and passionate about life and happiness. Street parking is available on Paki, Monsarrat, and Leahi Avenues, although it can be very limited. There is paid meter parking near the Waikiki Shell and the opposite side of Kapiolani Park near the Waikiki Natatorium, but that will require you to walk across the park and then some to reach the garden. It's a nice walk anyway! All in all, I would definitely recommend this place to add to your weekend activity list, if you haven't visited here yet. One of the few free activities there is on the island, if are interested in plants or just a lover of nature in general. There's also a open farmers market that happens near by on Wednesday's @ the Queen Kapiolani regional park. From 10am to 11am. Support local! B+ read more

April is Earth Month... Absolutely so lucky we live in Hawai'i as we're able to enjoy the beautiful greenery year round. Queen Kapiolani Garden is in a busy corner many drivers transition between Kaimuki/Waikiki/Diamond Head area. Though the address is Paki Ave if you're driving there are some dedicated parking stalls though the entrance is on Leahi Ave which I had no idea so I parked at across the street which is free and usually available making this area a great place to explore. Though majority of the area are paved it's all cracked and uneven making walking a bit of a hazard for kids or folks if you're not careful, the grass is nicely kept as it seems like it was freshly cut though some of the plants looked so sad and dry though I don't want to glorify it's lack of attention having this lovely area is still greatly appreciated as there were several Hibiscus and Bougainvillea among other plants with cute little flowers not quite in full bloom and enjoyed the view of the sun ready to set on this cool afternoon is a great way to wind down my day. Thank you! read more

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May Day is Lei Day in Hawai'i... Wanting to do something special on the First Day of May, I decided to finally go to Queen Kapiolani Garden. The borders on three sides of the garden are Paki Avenue, Leahi Avenue, and Monsarrat Avenue. I've passed by this garden countless times when leaving Waikiki. I found a free parking stall on Leahi Avenue. There's also a free small parking lot on Leahi Avenue, after the Fire Station. This garden used to have roses... If I remember correctly. Now - sadly - it seems to have been neglected... Or maybe the flowers aren't in bloom? There were some placards which identified some plants. I recognized the bougainvillea, ti leaves, hibiscus, and a plant with spikey round balls on a stem. Some plants looked familiar, but I don't know their names. I saw an overgrown archway, a couple of picnic beaches in the shade, several cement stools, some feral chickens, doves, and rats. Yes... Rats! I heard some rustling and looked at the ground by the bushes. Ack! Those little beady eyes don't belong to mongoose... Ha! There were a few black rat traps laying around. That's when I decided to leave. Plus, there were a few sketchy people lurking in the distance. Spooky... Don't go at nighttime! read more

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This small garden is adjacent to Kapiolani Park and dedicated to a local role model for education and medicine, Queen Kapiolani. In bloom, were several species of bougainvillea. A local hen with baby chicks played among the bushes. There are several species of young palm and, of course, monstera. There is a pleasant covered area with benches to relax and enjoy views of Diamondhead. The park is open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Pets are not allowed. There are a few parking spaces on the west side of the garden. read more

Queen Kapiolani Garden - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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We walked quite a ways to get here only to be sad upon arriving. Should have been relaxing and beautiful but instead it stressed me out. The plants that are still there are dying a slow painful death. There was a lot of trash everywhere (dirty underwear ew!) just laying around. I think the homeless took it over. Depressing. read more

Queen Kapiolani Garden - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

A small garden nestled between Paki park & Kapiolani park. We parked across the street and walked over. Both parking and exploring the garden was free, can't complain about that. Stroller friendly. You definitely won't get enough cardio walking the garden itself but it was nice to explore this side of town. We spotted several different hibiscus. As my little one would point out "flower." Most of the plants most definitely needed some water and the area could use an uplift. We spotted one homeless lady hanging around.. There was a beautiful garden arch for picture taking and 2 little seats outside. My other half said he seen the bathroom but said it was closed.. read more

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A garden that is supposed to be fit for a queen?...yet sadly it is not. This was once a beautiful garden when it was originally designed, with wonderful intent in the design, a wide variety of flowers & fauna with placards describing to all, and numerous meandering paths in this small garden to gracefully walk among. But this park hasn't seen any maintenance for a long time. There is absolutely no upkeep, dead plants/leaves & overgrowth everywhere. The paths are in such severe disrepair, that no amount of patching can fix them any more (navigating this if you are mobility impaired will be very difficult & hazardous). All the paths need to be removed and completely replaced, foliage needs weeks if not months (and ongoing care) by a gardener that cares for a park respectful of a queen. Sadly there's also trash, some features have been even been disrespected with graffiti, a wooden trellis that is supporting some of the larger trees has been burned and left as is. The entire park is in such distress and disrepair that I only recommend it in the hopes that more people will see it and maybe eventually it will be revived, and fit for the remembrance of a queen once more. Lastly, I'm surprised that with all (and I mean ALL) the $1M+ homes surrounding this park and in this entire area that there isn't anyone spearheading a committee or the city to bring beauty back to this park. If I was leaving in one of these homes I'd personally be over here at least helping with cleaning and care to keep this up...I find it disrespectful not to. (2022.10.21 This is my first visit to Hawaii from Minnesota, and I do love the lush beauty of the state) read more

I've been here a few times this past year. The pictures on Yelp just look so beautiful of all the Hawaiian flowers in bloom. My first time here was by chance. I was doing a race and was waiting for my dad to pick me up. Instead of picking up at the race we decided to meet at the garden. I was early so I decided to walk around the garden to see the flowers. It really was a disappointment. I walked around and saw the whole garden in like 3 minutes. There really wasn't anything to see. I didn't see any flowers in bloom. Instead I saw a whole bunch of chicken just roaming the property. On my second visit, I was there for a class. We sat at a bench at the garden while we got the lesson. It was a nice shady spot but unfortunately it was close to a garbage can. It was overflowing with tons of trash. So much so that it was all over the ground and it was smelly. There were still chicken roaming around. Then every once in a while when sitting on the bench, you could smell someone smoking weed. Not sure if it was coming from the garden itself, from the street, or from the houses nearby. And at one point while sitting on the bench, a guy came by on a bike, parked his bike right by the tree we were sitting and climbed up the tree. He sat up there for a while in the tree. Queen Kapiolani Garden really needs some work. They need more help with upkeep and making the place look more appealing to people. I also think that because the garden is so open, anyone just comes and hangs out. read more

The Queen Kapiolani Garden is rich in Hawaiian history and is currently undergoing a "facelift" to bring it back to its glory. The primary plants in here are various species of hibiscus and roses. There are other native trees and bushes, too. You can wander and relax while walking through tranquil pathways, take in the fragrances of the blossoms and enjoy a view of the slopes of Diamond Head. There are placards of the botanical and common names. However, please don't get your hopes up in thinking that this place is a formal botanical garden. There is a small parking lot that you can access on Leahi Avenue. In 1877, King David Kalakaua donated a 133-acre park for public use. He asked that the park be named in honor of his wife, Queen Kapiolani. Hence, we have Kapiolani Regional Park. At the corner of Monsarrat and Paki Avenues, adjacent of the Honolulu Zoo and Kapiolani Park this formerly vacant lot was designed to pay further homage to the late queen after nearly a century (1972) later. The pathways were once lush and grassy which made it a pleasure to walk barefoot and benches were placed around the park to allow one to sit and enjoy Mother Nature. There are rare species of hibiscus that are simply gorgeous when in bloom. I can't wait until the renovation and clean-up of this garden is complete. I remember those grassy pathways, vivid colorful blossoms and the fragrances from the roses. #316 read more

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This is often a place I walk through on my very long daily walks and is usually quite pleasant overall. They feature a array of hibiscus and roses mostly which are really nice. They also have a lot of native trees and other plants which is cool to see. Often many of these plants cant be found in many other places on Oahu. The pathways through the park arent terrible but arent the best neither as they are pretty old. Parking is really easy as there is usually spots available at Paki Park especially right now during the Covid 19 pandemic so that's a plus. I will come by very soon again and hope the park is taken better care of and possibly renovated! That would be something cool to see. read more

Queen Kapiolani Garden - Blossoming all around the park. This doesn't happen often but when it does the park is alive! - Botanical Gardens Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Check out there native Hawaiian garden planted by DPR, Sierra Club, and Niu Valley Middle School as a service project.

I was going to give this three stars since it is an OK looking park, but it really only deserves 2 maybe 1 (I'll get to that). The only listing I could find was on Yelp, I was looking for a botanical garden. This isn't accurate. Yes, there are local plants around and there are some signs (some!) telling you what the local plants are. It's basically a local park that isn't terribly well maintained. It is right next to the Zoo if you need to find it. There was a pile of stuff around. I'm not sure if it was building supplies or something else. The walkways and edging were old and not maintained well. All of this wouldn't matter if you are a local and you want to walk over and enjoy the park. What maybe would bring it down to 1 is the fact there was a paranoid homeless person living in the park. At first I thought it was a grandma with a kid (It looked like she had a carriage), but no, it was a belligerent and aggressive homeless person. She yelled at us saying she knew who sent us and that we were trying to kill her. Not nice and we left the park immediately (and earlier than we otherwise would). I don't know if it's her permanent spot, but if so it is unusable by anyone else unless you stay far far away. Once she's upset you can't stay. read more

This is a nice garden with lots of Hawaiian flowers, paved walking paths, shaded picnic tables, and a restroom. Access to the parking lot is from Leahi. My friends used to meet here once or twice a week to play ukulele but since I joined the group we haven't been meeting here much partly because I can't sit very comfortably at those cramped picnic tables and play ukulele so I've been diverting our jams to other locations. I still like to walk through the park when I'm in the vicinity to enjoy the flowers and the landscaping. read more

A smaller but nice park filled with native plants and flowers. Queen Kapiolani Garden is right across from the Kapiolani Regional Park and the Honolulu Zoo. I'll go this way a lot when in the area, but things are usually changing around the gardens quite a bit, so catch them while you can. read more

Visiting Oahu with the Hubs and my Dad...we'd walked the ole guy a long way that day but I still wanted to visit some Hawaiian botanical gardens. These gardens were close to our hotel and just on the other side of the zoo. And they were free to enter. Let's just say you get what you pay for. Maybe it was the end of the growing season in Hawaii...or maybe the plants were merely unkept and things were left to their own devices. As an Oklahoma Master Gardener, I was generally disappointed in much of the Hawaiian foliage and flowers...plants growing wild along the highways were lovely..those in this space declared a garden were not so much. If you want to see something spectacularly beautiful, I suggest looking into one of the other listed gardens or take a stroll across the street and sit on the beach! read more

I live right by this tiny park so I see its beauty every day! I will say it is a really small garden/park that is being taken over by the homeless folks of Hawaii. Hopefully, somewhat takes care of that. But once a year, starting in June, there is one giant tree that blossoms with yellow flowers and it is absolutely breathtaking especially with the red/green foliage that grows under it. The contrast of colors is striking and really would be the perfect spot for engagement or family portraits! The flowers start fading and losing its luster around mid July though...so if you're there in June-July be sure to check it out. It's worth it! read more

The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation started renovating the garden a while back, but something seems to have put that effort on hold. I think that when (and if) it is completed, it will be beautiful- but right now, it is a work in progress. read more