 |
| Park sign |
Rainbow Park is a personal favorite of mine when it comes to Maui parks. Aside from the fact that it's on a road hardly traveled, it's rather small, and it's below the road, so you could drive right past it without noticing it. The park offers very few amenities, only a single covered picnic area, some decaying benches that probably aren't safe to sit on, and not even a proper parking lot. There's enough parking on the street for probably not more than 5 cars.
 |
| View from the road |
But aside from all that, this is still a beautiful little park. It's only 2.6 acres in size, and it's densely populated with trees on the back side and throughout, including a happily fruiting mango tree. I don't think I've ever been here on a clear day. Somehow, every time I come here, it's drizzling, if not raining. The park has perpetually wet weather which adds to its jungle atmosphere. The ground is soft from the rain, but thankfully there's plenty of grass to prevent it from getting muddy. The rocky walls and other landscaping done here really adds to Rainbow park's charm.
 |
| Picnic area |
Rainbow park's best, most unique feature, is the little Japanese garden. There's a small stone bridge, and the remnants of a stone lantern. Unfortunately, the park is severely neglected, and the pond is dry and the lantern is mostly destroyed. The picnic pavilion is, in fact, fenced off, and not available to public use either, sadly. You might do well bringing your dog here. The walls help keep your dog contained, and the lack of visitors means you're unlikely to encounter other people or other dogs. If you do, buy a Chuck-it to throw a ball and give your dog some exercise. (Yes, this is some blatant product placement, but it's a product I've owned for many years. It's the best).
 |
| Stone bridge |
While doing research for this park, I managed to come across a facebook Group, Pickin With Chickens, that would gather monthly to play bluegrass music together. However, at the time of writing, The Covid-19 pandemic is still a very real danger, and because of the gathering limits, the group hasn't gotten together at Rainbow Park in what looks like many months now.
 |
| Former parking lot |
Finally, the last interesting feature of the park is near the main entrance, what was formerly the parking lot. There's some sort of animal corral. My guess is that it's for cattle, judging by the evidence, but I'm not an expert, so it's pure speculation since I've never seen anything here but chickens, but you'll just have to see for yourself when you visit the park. If/when you do visit, please take a minute and pick up any trash you see, or do something small to clean up the park. The park doesn't get as much love as most of Maui's other parks, but it has so much potential.
Click and drag this 360 photo!
Sources:
Google Maps, accessed January 27, 2021. https://goo.gl/maps/GLi12ZcTwgkbCdLQ7
Maui County, accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.mauicounty.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/138
Facebook, Accessed January 27, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/groups/182765845398283/
Comments
Post a Comment