University Avenue Park or Kamanele Park

University Avenue Park, or Kamanele Park, is a place to make happy memories. Here you can swing your baby or older child on the swings while they look up at the huge wonderful trees. You will have your fill of nature and leave smiling. There is some older play equipment, which is a nice change from the new generic play sets you find at the other Oahu playgrounds. There is a wise old Banyan tree up on the hill, where kids like to play peekaboo. This park is tucked at the bottom of a hill and has a mysterious feel to it. When my son was in preschool across the street, I would bring him here each day, sing him songs while he swung on the swings, and we'd admire Mr. Tree, the giant tree in front of the swings. 
Explore the beautiful college town of Manoa while you're here. Surrounded by high mountain ridges and gifted with huge rainbows that span the entire sky nearly every afternoon, Manoa is a magical place with groovy coffee shops, natural hippie grocery stores, and a strong sense of place. There is another delightful park with playground nearby: Manoa Valley Park which is incredibly lush with gorgeous mountain views. You could also take a muddy slippery hike to the stunning Manoa Falls. Or have a long wonderful walk around the campus of University of Hawaii Manoa and enjoy the old regal trees and the nice architecture. There you will find peaceful Japanese gardens.

Directions

From the H1 Freeway, exit at University Ave and head north toward the mountains. Continue along University Ave, uphill then downhill. At the bottom of the hill, turn right on Kaala Street and then make a u-turn at Mid-Pacific Institute, a college prep school. Now you can park at the free one-hour parking on the grass along Kaala Street opposite the park- check the signs for times when you are not allowed to park, usually during school dropoff and pickup.  
The address is 2426 Kaala St, Honolulu HI 96822.

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