Best hikes for family

[Jhornick]

Hi - We're staying at a mix of Aulani and Sheraton Waikiki. We'd like to do some hiking. Any recommendations? We will not have a car. Maximum length 3 miles. Thanks!

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Makapu’u Lighthouse trail - easy hike, with fantastic views

 

[tankin]

Depends on the family but mine loved Diamond Head... Short but vertical...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's 5 miles and I wouldn't do it with kids much younger than 10-12, but Ka'ena Point from the South is fantastic. It's hot and dry, but no bugs, no humidity, and amazing wildlife opportunities. Monk seals, whales, and Laysan albatross.

 

[jviking]

Consider Koko Head, 1.6 miles RT, and it's free (compared to Diamond head). Bonus, there is a Leonard's truck to get malasadas after at the Koko marina center! . Use Hui car share or Uber to get there and back.

 

[pjacobi]

I've seen both children and adults airlifted from Diamondhead. There was about a dozen airlifts on the day that I climbed Diamondhead.

Think twice before you are dangling in a wire litter under a helicopter!


-Paul

 

[mort1331]

I've seen both children and adults airlifted from Diamondhead. There was about a dozen airlifts on the day that I climbed Diamondhead.

Think twice before you are dangling in a wire litter under a helicopter!


-Paul

Or if your like my mind...wow that would be fun..hiw can i get that ride...lol

 

[Jhornick]

Thank you all for your replies so far. Anyone recommend Manoa or Waimano Falls?

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

You haven’t mentioned anything about your preferences, and these two hikes are about as different as it gets!

Manoa is beautiful - almost always overcast, but the view makes up for it. Easy hike - just under two miles IIRC. Easy to get to, they’ve recently added gravel to the path, although there are complaints about the gravel they’ve added making the paths harder to walk. Beautiful bamboo forest on a side trail. Lots of Jurrassic Park (and Lost) scenes filmed here.

Waimano falls is much more difficult - more difficult terrain, not well marked that I remember. Only been once, so don’t really remember many details. (Manoa is a few blocks from my sisters house, so that’s just walking around the neighborhood for me).


Rainfall’s been low, so the falls may not be very impressive. Bring bug spray!

 

[scoobdoo]

Which are best with a stroller?

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Which are best with a stroller?

Makapu’u Lighthouse trail.

And Waimea Falls I think - I’m pretty sure you can get up to the falls on all paved or graveled paths. (They drive a tram up there, but can’t remember if you can walk the road)

 

[monsterkitty]

Makapu'u Lighthouse trail is all paved and there were a lot of strollers.

YouTube probably has videos of people hiking other trails. This would give you some idea of what the trail is like.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

I’m middle-aged and out of shape and have done Waimea and Manoa the last two days.

Waimea was a snap - pretty flat the whole way.

Manoa was another story… it’s pretty much straight up and then straight down. I was sucking wind by the time I made it to the top (but proud of myself for making it). My Apple Watch said the hike was the equivalent of having walked 35 floors - and my knees agree with that assessment.

So thankful I wore proper trail shoes at Manoa, as parts of the path were slick and, as mentioned above, the addition of rocks (not gravel) made the hike fairly treacherous - up was ok, but there were a lot of points coming back down where I came close to losing my footing and/or twisting an ankle.

The two hikes (Waimea is really more of a walk) were worth doing, as long as you don’t expect to see impressive waterfalls at the end. Guessing it’s due to a lack of precipitation, but both were closer to trickles than actual falls.

 

[Twohsieh]

The Pill Box Hike-It is a short 2 mile (roundtrip) hike which takes about 1-1.5 hours. It has 2 military bunkers & a beautiful panoramic view of Lanikai Beach. It's a little steep in the beginning and it is on a dirt path but the hike is easy. Please remember to take enough water on your hikes, as it does get very hot during the day.

We ran into a hiker a few years ago who asked us for some water. He was wearing slacks and a long sleeve button up shirt-maybe a spur of the moment hike for him. Luckily, we had a spare water bottle to give him.

 

[Apixarfan]

We ran out of time to do this but if we were there one more day we would have squeezed in a trip to Likeke Falls. A travel book made this one sound relatively easy/short of you park at a nearby gold course and follow a road that is now closed to cars. Less popular so may be more peaceful than others too.

 

[k5xs]

A web search on "Best Oahu hiking trails" will give you tons of options.

 

[newdeal]

Manoa Falls is great, especially if you go at a time where it isn't super dry because the falls does get much smaller when the weather is very dry

 

[Jhornick]

Thanks everyone. I think we'll do Manoa Falls.

 

[ten822]

Hi - We're staying at a mix of Aulani and Sheraton Waikiki. We'd like to do some hiking. Any recommendations? We will not have a car. Maximum length 3 miles. Thanks!

Hi!! Not sure if you travelled yet, but, I would love to hear how it went! I am doing the same split stay next May 23'. Three years ago I hiked Diamond Head, Makapu'u Lighthouse, Lanakai Pillboxes and Waimea Falls. The Lighthouse was super easy, paved but uphill, had great views. Waimea Falls was mostly walking, gardens, cultural displays along the way, there were no falls for us because there hadn't been rain in a while. We stopped at Waimea beach after and it was beautiful. Diamond head was a little challenging mostly because of huge staircases. The airlifting was probably from heat exhaustion. I wasn't as impressed with the views from Diamond head. The Lanakai Pillbox hike was the most challenging FOR ME anyway. My husband, 12, 15 yr olds were fine. It had rocky uneven spots. I wore sneakers but realized they had slippery foam bottoms. You need something sturdy with traction or your feet slip. I was screaming in a couple spots because I was scared but the views made it WORTH IT! STUNNING!! And I was very proud of myself for completing it!!