Maunawili Falls Trails

The Trail
This popular moderate trail is 1.4 miles long (one-way) with about a 360 foot elevation change. Overall, it is a very wet muddy trail, so make sure you wear appropriate footwear for the hike. Wearing some sort of shoe that you can go in and out of the water with is good, but it should also be sturdy enough and provide support for hiking. During wet periods, plan to wade through deep mud. During dry periods the hike is easier and less messy, but the trail still has many muddy areas, slippery roots that stick far up with muddy pockets between them, and river crossings. Flash flooding is possible here, so check weather conditions before heading out and don't go on a rainy day.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The trail starts at a road with a gate. Head past the gate and turn when you get to the large waterfall sign. Notice the warning sign about the water being infected with Leptospirosis. You should not expose any open wounds to the water or drink it in order to avoid a bacterial infection.

A few signs contain some interesting information about the historical aspects of this trail where it turns to the right here; please be respectful of these as you hike.

When we did this, we soon found that the trail lead into a tangled mess, but there was a go around trail heading down to the dirt road below and then back up again.

Around a third of a mile into the trail, the trail starts to follow the Maunawili Stream. It crosses the stream about 0.7 mile in from the trailhead. You will also see old ranching walls and stone roads through this section.

Maunawili Stream

The trail has a number of areas that are made rough and uneven by windy roots. And sometimes you may have to duck under tree branches.

As you continue there will be more and more of a climb with some stairs built in along the trail. Make sure you stay on the stairs and on the trail to help prevent further erosion and destruction of the area. After the final set of stairs you will reach a section of the trail with some nice views of the Koolau mountain range. After going up this hill, the trail soon descends back down to stream and the waterfall. Especially since we went during a dry spell, found that the trail seems to get more significantly more muddy and worn as we approached the falls. We decided this was due to people leaving the falls and the stream after getting very wet and then dripping water all over the trail.

 Again, there are some very rough sections with windy roots protruding up above mud puddles.

You will have to cross the stream once again at the bottom of the hill to continue to the falls.

Hikers will continue to go in and out of the stream some to get to the falls. If you are still enough, little fish in the area will come nibble at your toes. Once at the falls, many people swim across the deep pool below the falls, climb up the side of the falls and jump. The water is pretty chilly, but it is a good jumping spot. There are some higher ones too, but use caution so that you don't get hurt hitting the bottom of the pool. Jump at your own risk and don't dive from the high jumps. There have been lots of injuries from people's attempts to jump into this pool.

If you opt to swim across the pool, you can also continue a little ways up past this first waterfall and find a smaller but very scenic second falls behind it. Because we had to swim to get up there, we opted to not take the GPS with us, but it isn't far.

Second little waterfall past the first one

There are no restrooms at the trailhead for this trail or along the way. It is also advisable to wear bug repellent while doing this trail.

Directions
This trail is located on Oahu, HI. To get there, take Pali Highway/Hwy 61 to Auloa Road. If you are coming from Honolulu, this will be after the tunnel. Continue straight and this road will become Maunawili Rd. Continue to stay on this road to its end where it intersects with Kelewina St. This is where the hike starts. You can park in the neighborhood here; just remember it can get crowded at times. GPS Coordinates: N21 21.547 W157 45.814

Crouching Lion Trail

The Trail
This moderately difficult trail is about 1.4 miles round trip with a 470 foot elevation change. The difficult part of this trail comes from the fact that some areas are well worn by other hikers and the ground is slick in these spots, not due to length or other factors. Be prepared to do a bit of scrambling.

Topographical Map (Blue = Crouching Lion; Red = Mananama Trail)

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

This trail is technically "closed," though it is frequently hiked anyway. Because of this, there is not much to mark the trail except a couple warning signs.

Trailhead

There also appears to be a trail further up the road without signs (shown in red above). We had tried this one first. It also lead up to some good view points and was also slick. We had a great view of the crouching Lion from the spot we stopped, but couldn't find a quick way over to it without going down and starting again.

View of Kahana Bay from the first trail we attempted

View of The Crouching Lion from the other route to the Pu'u Mananama Trail

The trail is pretty clear the whole way up, though it can be steep and slippery. Going when it is wet and rainy is not recommended. We first headed to the rock to the right in the picture above. This was a cool spot to perch, but the views were better overall from the peak to the left in the above picture.

View from first rock we went to

Panoramic View from first rock

After heading down from the first point, we headed out to the second one. This path took us down under a rock ledge before ascending a slippery stretch of dirt to its top.

View from the top of the second peak

As we figured out later, both the Crouching Lion Trail and the trail we first attempted while trying to reach the Crouching Lion continue up the ridge along the Pu'u Mananama Trail, which is an extremely precarious and difficult trail. The two trails connect further up from where we stopped.

View looking back at the first rock and the mountains where the
trail continues from the second we climbed

There have been a number of injuries and deaths along this trail, so please use caution. The cliffs are made of loose crumbly rock. Use prudence and wisdom in your activities on them. Also, as always, don't rely on ropes left on the trail more than you have to; it is impossible to know how long they have been there or how securely they will hold your weight. Always test them to make sure they will support you before trying to use them, and don't put your full weight on them while climbing unless absolutely necessary.

When finished enjoying the views, proceed down the way you came. No restrooms are available at the trailhead.

Directions

This trail is located in Oahu, HI in Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park between Kaaawu and Punaluu. To get there, take HI-83/Kamehameha Hwy to the southeast side of Kahana Bay. There is parking here facing the bay, and the trailhead is right across the street. If this parking is full, you can also park at Swanzy Beach and walk up to the trailhead. GPS Coordinates: N21 33.484 W157 51.973

Ka'au Crater Trail (shortened version)

The Trail
This difficult trail is about 4 miles long (round trip) with about a 1170 foot elevation change. (Note that the information below includes the short walk from where we could park to the trailhead.) The trail goes to and then climbs up three waterfalls, at the top of which the Ka'au Crater can be seen. From here is circles around and comes back down the ridge line before descending down into the canyon and back to the trail that went up. There is also a longer 7.25 mile route that goes up to the tallest peak around the crater and circles back down, but the trail information here is for the shorter route.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

This trail starts at the end of a road behind a line of mailboxes. We found it marked by a handmade sign. The trail heads down in a brief dip here.

It quickly meets up with the river and follows it up the canyon. It is hard to follow in some places, but pink ties help mark the way. If you do get off the trail as we seemed to do at one point, it's possible to pick up again further along as it generally follows the river pretty closely. It crosses the river multiple times and meets up with a large pipe that has a clear trail next to it, which is the way to go. The trail is often quite muddy, though overall it was relatively dry the day we went.

Pipe that follows trail for a ways.

The first waterfall is about 1.7 miles from the trailhead. We couldn't find a clear path anywhere down to the base of the falls, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. We just didn't have a lot of time to search for it. Instead we saw it through the trees and from the top.

First waterfall through the trees

Top of first waterfall

Pools and rocks above first waterfall

The trail continued on following the river for another 0.2 mile before arriving at the second waterfall.

Second Waterfall

 The trail to continue on is just to the right of this waterfall.

Trail up the side of the second waterfall

Top of second waterfall

Large Rock/Memorial Plaque at top of second falls

In another 0.2 mile you will reach the base of the third waterfall.

Third Waterfall

What we didn't understand before we started was that this waterfall is really a whole series of terraced waterfalls up to the crater. The waterfalls originate from water draining out of the marshy middle of Ka'au Crater, and from this point in the trail you will keep climbing up the sides of waterfalls until you reach the crater in about another 0.3 mile.

If you wish to go back down, turn left at the junction at the top of the waterfalls and head up that way. After climbing up the ridge a ways you will have a good view of the crater. You can also look back and see the trail heading up to the highest peak of the crater; this is where you would be heading if you turned right at the top of the last waterfall.

Ka'au Crater

Ka'au Crater with trail around the longer way to the other peaks

The climbs up the last waterfall and to the peaks going the other way are said to be tricky, particularly when especially wet and muddy. It is not recommended to go up this trail especially along the longer route if it is very rainy. It is probably much better to not do during the wet season. As previously mentioned, the day we went it was not particularly wet, and we found the climbs up to be easy, especially after having hiked the Olomana Three Peaks Trail, but it would definitely would have been more challenging under wetter conditions. We really didn't even need any of the ropes, though they helped us spot the correct trails to climb up. This is probably not a good trail for inexperienced hikers and should not be done without proper shoes, plenty of water, food, and other possible needed items. There are ropes along many of the spots to climb up, but use these with caution and only if necessary. These ropes are put up by other hikers, but it is impossible to know how long they have been there or how securely they will hold your weight. Always test them to make sure they will support you before trying to use them, and don't put your full weight on them while climbing unless absolutely necessary. One of the ropes on this trail we found had nearly been sawed apart as it had worn on a sharp rock at the top near where it had been anchored. Remember, there have been plenty of injuries, falls, rescues, and even some deaths on this trail, so use good judgement when planning and taking your hike.

After viewing the crater, the trail will continue along the ridge and then back down the canyon to the trail you started on.

This trail is not recommended for dogs.

Directions
This trail is located on Oahu, HI not far from Honolulu in the neighborhood of Palolo. To get there, take HI-1 to Exit 25b for 6th Ave. and head north. Turn right onto Harding Ave. and then left onto 10th Ave. Continue to Waiomao Rd. and turn right.  There is very limited parking near the trailhead. If the parking there is full, you will have to park further down off of Waiomao Rd. and walk a short ways to the trailhead. GPS Coordinates: N21 18.647 W157 46.914

Makapu’u Tide Pools

The Trail
This moderate trail is about a mile long (one-way) with around a 400 foot elevation change. The trail starts up a paved road but then turns to head down a steep rocky bank to reach the tidepools below.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The first part of this trail is easy; it involves a steady but gradual incline up a paved road that once was the access road to the Makapu’u Lighthouse. There are some nice views along the way of the Kaiwi Shoreline.

About 0.8 mile up the road there is a lookout area with a sign just ahead. To get down to the tidepools, follow the path between the sign and the lookout spot. Head down the rocky slope toward the tidepools below. There are multiple possible paths here.

Turn-off spot for the tidepools

The way down to the tidepools descends a long steep rocky bank.

 
As you approach the tidepools, you will see a blowhole to the left. You can go right down to the tidepools, but use some caution as the waves are often large and boisterous as they crash into the rocks and pools.

 

It is trickier to see a clear path as you head back up to the paved road from the tidepools. Fortunately, some have marked the rocks with paint that help direct hikers the right way.

Directions
This hike is located on Oahu, Hawaii. To get there from Honolulu, take HI-72  east past Sandy and Koloko Beaches and turn right at Makapu’u Lighthouse Road. If you are coming from the north, take HI-72 south past Waimanalo Beach and turn left onto Makapu’u Lighthouse Road. Continue to the parking area. The paved road continues past the parking area as the trail. GPS Coordinates: N21 18.318 W157 39.307