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Pu'u Hapapa Trail

4.8 (12 reviews)

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View of Honolulu and Pearl Harbor from the top
Timothy P.

The views are like none other on the island. You can see the west, north, and south shores once you make it to the peak. Ok first thing, do not bring kids of you hike the whole thing. It's around a 6 hour hike on very shady overgrown trails since not a lot of people can do this hike. Ensure you have plenty of water. I personally went threw my whole hydro bladder before it was over. Ok well first you have to get on base. If you know someone on base it would be great because they can drop you, I would not park my car up there since range control will sit and wait for you. There are two place you could get Dropped at and that's the yellow fence on kolekole road or (if that fence is open) the start of the trail. If you have to start at the yellow gate just walk up kolekole road till you see the entrance on the right. You'll know if you go to far since they have the west side of the pass blocked off. Once you start the trail you find a orange road blocker telling you not to go further, just go around it to the right and you will continue on to some stairs, they have a lot of little side paths but you will be good sticking to the larger one. If you make it to the phone tower and the pu'uhApapa stone you will be good. You need to follow all the orange/pink markers people placed out on the trail. Follow those and you will be fine. There are some places so overgrown. That you have to crawl thru them but once you make it to the ridge line, you will be good. Just keep following that all the way to the top of the first really high peak. Hope this helps and message me if you want more specifics.

Just ONE of the beautiful things seen in the way up.
Dan M.

I'm a bit of a hiking noob. Let's take today for example: I forgot water. I know, I know, most important rule, BROKEN. Lesson learned, I suppose, but the goal is to get out there, and conquer some freakin' mountains! Today the energetic Yuko A. and I decided to hike up Pu'u Hapapa, which was described as having sweeping views of BOTH leeward side and North Shore...AT THE SAME TIME. We also found out about the hike through a site called Unreal Hawaii (mucho credit: http://www.unrealhawaii.com/2011/05/puu-hapapa/), which features beautiful pictures of the above mentioned hike. Much better pics than I could ever take! ...You know when you're looking at a travel picture of someplace, and you get an instant shot in the arm of MOTIVATION to go to that exact same spot? Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Anyways, this trail seems to be a low-key destination, especially as it's located IN Schofield Barracks. Most people would think, "Hey, can't only military peeps get on base?" But for some reason, if you say you're there for the hike, they let you right on in. Just make sure to bring a picture ID, and proof of insurance and registration for your car. After a short drive in, you'll arrive in a small parking lot right at the beginning of the trailhead. Along the way, you'll see the trail marked by pink ribbons, so you'll never stray off unless that's your goal. I would say this is an upper intermediate hike, as there are some pretty dangerous parts along the way. Plenty of those, you trip...and you're-going-to-have-a bad-time-kind of sections. A bit of rock climbing is also involved, but nothing TOO intense. Just make sure to FOLLOW THOSE TRAIL MARKS. I missed one and found myself shimming down some crazy cliffs, while clinging to anything I could find. Quite scary. But it's all about the payoff. And boy, was it worth it. A nice 360 of beautiful scenery. The pictures in my phone simply do not replicate the awesomeness of what I saw. Overall, it's a fun, yet challenging hike. Includes roughly four hours of variety as you'll be scrambling around the ridgeline of Pu'u Hapapa. Definitely the best hike I've had so far (out of four I've done =P ).

Eldridge S.

Just went on the Puu Hapapa trail today. Great Trail. It is indeed about 4 miles round trip. One thing to note is their are two ways to reach the summit. Both start at the Paperbark tree forest. In particular, they are at a the exposed root system that (right up) takes you up the notch ridge or (left forward) takes you along a gentler ridge with more foliage. Both take you to and from the summit as a loop. Another thing to note, a friend of mine works to monitor traffic going up to the trail. They remarked that walking up the road from the yellow steel gate is very dangerous. The reason being is right next to the road is a open firing range and live explosives that could happen to cross the road path. Until the military has cleared the area I would recommend coming back another day. Other than that be prepared for ridges, tall grass and some stream bed activity. Enjoy!

Lanz P.

The view at the summit is one of my favorites on the island! It is amazingly gorgeous on a clear day, but being a ridge hike it can be super hot also. It is great that the army started opening this trail up sometimes to dod etc. You start at the kolekole pass gate. Proceed up the marked trail. The first part of the hike is kid and family friendly and is worth the view. If you plan on going to pu'u hapapa summit then it is not kid friendly. I was trying to avoid the 2 notches so we went past the first turn that led up the steep area with the paper trees. We kept walking and eventually went right up another steep paper tree area. It steeply rises and eventually reaches a ridge that will lead you to the ridge that leads to Hapapa. As we were climbing the edge, we could see other people at the top of the notches. Not much shade on this ridge hike. At the top you head left and reach a fence. You follow the fence to the heli pad. On our way back down we took the first ridge down and ended up facing the notches. The notches are no joke. I don't know what other people are talking about, but there were no ropes. Both notches are super sketchy. The 1st one on our way back was the smaller one, but bigger spaces that you had to step. And for me it was the more scarier one. The 2nd one, although bigger was less daunting because it had more foot and hand holds. Just be careful and test every rock. A few rocks were ready to come out of the mountain. Bring lots of water. Don't go if it was raining. Wear sunblock. 4 miles. Steep sections.

Gate and fence that you have to hop over.  Took my wife and I 33 minutes to get here.

We tried this hike today but didn't get very far. From the other reviews, the trail takes anywhere from 3-6 hours to get to the top. I'm a member of the military so it was easy to get on base and find our way to the yellow gate. (seems to be closed every day) To day was Sunday and there were people on the range shooting and doing Army stuff. I tried to go up here on Thursday morning, but there was a guard at the yellow gate, and he wouldn't let me through. First, you'll need to park at the yellow gate. Walk through it for 15 minutes. When you get to the orange barrier and the white barrier, turn right towards the short tower looking building. Follow the vehicle path up the hill. You will come to a gate that you can walk through (around) after about 23 minutes of total walking. (from parking the car). Then you'll walk another 10 minutes and you will hit another gate, fenced area. You'll need to hop over this gate. 5-7 minutes further, you'll see some trees on the left side that look as if they've been cut down with a chain saw. You will also see blue ribbons. (From what we can tell, this is the trail.) It is marked very well with blue ribbons; somebody really took their time to put them up. The trail seems rarely used, which we could tell because the trail wasn't much of a trail. The grass/weeds were about ankle high and didn't seem as if they were trampled on. From the start of the blue ribbons, and cut down trees, we made it about 20 minutes in. Recommendations: bring lots of water and expect a long hike.

This is where you ever off the contour trail to head up to the notches

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3 years ago

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9 years ago

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5 years ago

Amazing views! Not really young kid or pet friendly, but it's worth the climb up to the top!

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Wahiawa State Freshwater Park

3.7(6 reviews)
6.0 mi

The park is well maintained. I see the workers patrolling and driving around with a cart. There…read moreare many parking stalls. Great place for fishing in freshwater. I went there to walk and sidewalk areas and grass are kept neat from trash and there are no overgrown grass/weeds.

Well, I took some of the Boy Scouts out to this lake to work on the fishing merit badge. Here is…read morewhat we found: The Good: - There is a lot of shoreline if you want to fish from the shore. - There is a place to park your car in a park near the south end. There is also a boat launch. - There are a few picnic tables around to sit and eat. - There are fish in the water. We saw them. - Fishing license and park entry permit is only $6 for military and residents, for a whole year. Go here to get one: https://freshwater.ehawaii.gov/freshwater/ The Not So Good: - Dirty water, land, trails. People have made the park filthy. - Fishing is not so great. Out of the 12 people with lines in the water, NO ONE caught anything. We were trying all kinds of lures, spinners, bait, etc., during multiple times of the day. Nothing. We met a few other people who had fished there a lot more than we had, and none of them had ever caught anything. Not so great for kids who want to catch something when they fish. - Park opens at 7am. If you want to fish before sunrise, you better find another part of the lake. Bottom Line: I don't think I'll go here again unless I go with a guide, someone who knows the lake VERY well. Since everything is catch and release at this lake, the fun is in the catching, and everyone we ran into that day have never caught anything!

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Wahiawa State Freshwater Park
Wahiawa State Freshwater Park
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Ali'i Agricultural Farms

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4.1(144 reviews)
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This experience was definitely one for the books! We took our 7 year-old and he had a blast -- even…read morewhen the rain started to pour! Fish were not biting much and what we did catch were small. The lady working that day said that the fish tend to bite more on warmer days when it's not raining -- she said that she thinks they hide out at the bottom when it rains. We ended up keeping 2 of our decent sized catches (still pretty small). However, I must say, the fish was fried to perfection!! We chose to have our fish fried whole, it was served with a scoop of rice, a refreshing broccoli-slaw salad and a cluster of plump, juicy grapes. A surprisingly tasty lunch to end our rainy fishing adventure. *Bonus tip: wear shoes/clothes you don't mind getting dirty. The red dirt can stain your shoes and does not wash off clothing very easily. We brought old shoes (trashed when we left) and changed out before we got in the car.

One of the few keiki-friendly places on island to fish, Ali'i lets you fish for your own lunch and…read morehave it prepared on site. Located at a functioning farm, Ali'i has plenty of parking up front in the dirt lot. Check in at the main hutch/building and the staff will ring you up for fishing. You'll get a pole, bag of bait (not live), and a bucket. There are 3 pools dug out of the dirt but only one was lined and filled with water when we went. It was filled with lots of tilapia and they were fairly easy to catch. You can do catch and release or bring back what you've caught to the scale. Each fish can be cooked a variety of ways and comes served with rice, salad and fruit. The fish tasted great, freshly fried in our case, and the sides were actually really good. A great day out for fishing people but note for those that have never fished before, there is little instruction here and you're kinda left to yourself (which is a good thing if you know what you're doing).

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Ali'i Agricultural Farms - Peaceful easy feeling with grandson

Peaceful easy feeling with grandson

Ali'i Agricultural Farms - Catching some tilapia

Catching some tilapia

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4.5(10 reviews)
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Never knew this place existed til today. You learn new things every day…read more.. Was told it was a bike path but saw no one on bikes, just a few walkers so it was not crowded or noisy. Luckily the heat of the summer is previewing in late May already there is a spot of shade and some boulders to sit on. Not safe for white shorts. If you have toddlers or young elementary children they can run around in the grassy area. We only went as far as the boulders and didn't see any restroom facilities. Good idea to bring your own water to quench your thirst.

While studying the Trail of Tears in 7th or 8th grade, if my memory serves correctly, each class…read moreheld onto and carried a rope from the Middle school down to McDonalds and back up through the ravine. Towards the top, our PE teachers surprised us with water balloons. That has got to be one of the most memorable moments I had at MMS. Heck, I remember walking from MMS to town center on Fridays and on the last day of school! Oh the good ol' days! It's a beautiful path, well maintained for the most part. It's quite long path to walk, jog, stroll, or bike through. Nevertheless, it is in no way strenuous or intense. Perfect for little ones too. People walk their dogs just bring poop bags and remember to toss it in the trash can. Didn't notice any sketchy people around but I still wouldn't go alone. It's a nice neighborhood and the path isn't hard to find when going down or up.

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Mililani Ravine Park
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4.8(1.9k reviews)
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This is the second time I've been here! First time I went on a solo kayak tour, this time I did the…read moreguided kayak tour! Really fun times. Staff is always friendly. I had Morgan as my tour guide and he was very accommodating, knowledgeable, and super friendly! It's a very easy tour, Kailua Beach Adventures makes things as easy as possible. It does require some upper body strength, but anyone at any level can do it! BEAUTIFUL views! 10/10 would recommend.

We had an amazing time on the Kailua Beach Adventure kayak tour, and a huge part of that was thanks…read moreto Morgan! The entire experience was so much fun from start to finish--beautiful scenery, great pacing, and just the right mix of adventure and relaxation. Morgan was incredibly informative throughout the tour, sharing interesting facts about the area, local wildlife, and history in a way that kept everyone engaged. One of the highlights was kayaking out to Popoiʻa Island (Flat Island), which was absolutely beautiful. Morgan did an excellent job helping us navigate the waters both going out and coming back, making sure everyone felt comfortable and confident the entire time. Honestly, Morgan was the best guide we could have asked for--friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and just all-around awesome. We felt safe, well taken care of, and had such a great time. Highly recommend this tour, especially if you get Morgan as your guide!

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Kailua Beach Adventures - Looking over Kailua from Popoi'a island

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Pu'u Hapapa Trail - hiking - Updated May 2026

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