NTBG: Limahuli Garden and Preserve to Reopen Soon

Limahuli Garden and Preserve. Photo courtesy of UH/Cheryl Geslani

The National Tropical Botanical Garden has announced that the Limahuli Garden and Preserve in Ha‘ena, Kaua‘i’s North Shore will reopen to residents and visitors in the near future, according to a recent NTBG news release.

The garden has been closed since the April 2018 flooding which had major impacts on the garden’s infrastructure. Improvements required for future resilience are almost complete and an official reopening date in June will be announced on its website www.ntbg.org in May.

“Limahuli Garden and Preserve has adopted more sustainable tourism practices that will benefit the community, the area’s natural and cultural resources, and visitors who come to engage in this very special place. Actively engaging in the solutions to take care of our places is a reciprocal responsibility all of us share equally,” NTBG said in a statement on its website.

The statement continues: “Limahuli Garden will be initiating an advanced reservation program for those who would like to join any of our Garden tours. Those who take the new shuttle system to Limahuli Garden and full-time Hawai‘i residents do not require an advanced reservation for our self-guided tours. Our advanced reservation program and availability of the new shuttle system will allow our operation to effectively manage the number of vehicles and the associated impacts to the Garden and surrounding community.

Limahuli Stream

“Hāʻena State Park has also adopted sustainable tourism practices with the implementation of the Hāʻena State Park Masterplan. This includes an advanced reservation system for visitors, collaboration with the new shuttle system, and no-parking zones from Hāʻena State Park to Hāʻena Place (just past Hāʻena Beach Park). These measures will take steps to preserve our rural community and its natural and cultural resources, while enhancing our visitor experience.

“All of us play a vital role in ensuring our places are resilient and prosperous for generations to come. We are hopeful as we step forward towards a future with sustainable tourism as the new normal, that we all work together to support and honor our communities, places, and each other.”

National Tropical Botanical Garden is a not-for-profit, non-governmental institution with nearly 2,000 acres of gardens and preserves in Hawai‘i and Florida. The institution’s mission is to enrich life through discovery, scientific research, conservation, and education by perpetuating the survival of plants, ecosystems, and cultural knowledge of tropical regions. NTBG is supported primarily through donations and grants.

The 1,000-acre Limahuli Garden and Preserve in the far reaches of Kaua‘i’s North Shore lies within the Ha‘ena Ahupua‘a, which in turn is part of the Halele‘a Moku, one of the five original moku on Kaua‘i.