One of the places we had wanted to take the boys in their double stroller was the Iao Valley, which we knew had some paved trails – the area is famous for the Iao Needle, a lava pinnacle that towers over the valley just west of Kahului and Wailuku. Well, we never made it by while the kids were here, so we swung through on our way elsewhere this day (of all things, Chris had come down with a cold, so a big day of hiking didn’t sound like much fun – this ended up being way too easy of a day, though). The valley was packed with visitors, and there were people parking all along the road outside the main parking lot, which was full. However, as we made our way through to loop around and exit, we found a guy who was leaving and took his spot. The views are spectacular even from the parking lot – the sides of the valley are sheer and overgrown with jungle foliage, and one has the feeling of being in an episode of Lost or Jurassic Park. It appeared from our trail map that there were two interconnecting pathways, one that looped north and west along the Iao Stream, from which there was a spur leading up some steps to an overlook of the Iao Needle, and another nearer the park entrance that led around and through some botanical gardens. There was no scale on that map, and it was immediately apparent that these trails are very short, the whole system being compactly fitted into just a few acres. We also realized that the Needle itself, while not visible from our parking spot, was right there above us at the trailhead. We quickly walked up to the overlook, crossing a footbridge with a brook below – there were several families with kids in swimwear hanging out along the stream. We continued the upper loop, expecting to be able to walk further west up the valley along the stream, but that section was closed. We continued around the loop, past the overlook spur, and over the bridge again to the garden path leading south into a small terraced area through which the brook has been channeled with PVC pipe to form a network of small streamlets and pools. It was quite pretty here, and the sound of running water was peaceful, yet there were also more than a dozen people wandering about so we didn’t really get the secluded experience we were expecting. We climbed a short ramp back out to the main walkway and followed it down to the parking area, likening this brief hike to the trail up to Lower Yosemite Falls – a gorgeous natural setting that is difficult to fully drink in because of all the other visitors attempting to do the same.