From researching this falls for the defunct Hawaii Waterfalls book project, I learned that this botanical garden started with grand plans to convert former sugarcane farmland into a sanctuary for rare and endangered flora. Eventually, the Gardens opened to the public in July 1995 and apparently they continue to expand their worldwide flora collection. In addition to the falls, there was also a Rain Forest walk with 100 Bromeliad species, a children’s maze, an arboretum, and picnic areas. Though admittedly, we pretty much only did the waterfall and didn't do anything else here (so we didn't really make our admission price worth our while).

Update 11/25/2011: We were recently informed that this waterfall is now under the ownership of the Umauma Experience. They wanted us to relay the message that they now offer ziplining, a tropical garden, a palm alley walk, restrooms, a vistor center, and a snack shack. One of these days, we'll have to check it out to see how it differs from our first experience here.

From the registration center car park, the clockwise driving loop begins on the narrow road behind you. At the 0.6-mile signpost, turn right (west) onto an unpaved road providing sweeping ocean views and passing signposted flora collections en route to the small car park near Umauma Falls Lookout.