Most people think of Hawaii as a beach resort, surfing, etc. with awesome weather. But if you think about it, the islands are the tips of mountains sticking up out of the ocean. Perfect set up for trails to throughout the mountains.
We first discovered Hawaii’s trails when we went the to celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2004. We did the laborious walk up to the top of Diamond Head, kind of a suburban trail (see our Nature-Hiking page for trail descriptions). When we got to the top of Diamond Head we met this guy dressed in a khaki shirt and khaki shorts, looking like Steve Irwin. He was trying to get people to join him on a hike the next day. We were intrigued and found out that by donation (he was avoiding the licensing fees) they would take us up by bus and give a tour of the mountains.
Okay, we know you’re thinking…this guy is going to round everyone up, take us to a deserted trail, rob them and split, right?
Well, it did cross our minds. After we got back from Diamond Head, Gary checked with the concierge at the hotel where we were staying about him. They actually knew the guy! Apparently he was flying under the radar, but otherwise legit.
So we signed up to go!
The bus took us into the mountains and dumped us on a trail up at the top. The guide was pretty informative, telling us about all sorts of native species, as well as some not so native species in Hawaii. The hike as it was very enjoyable as it was one of the first nature hikes we’d ever done on a vacation.
It was then we decided to start adding hikes whenever we could. On that same trip, we did a couple of small suburban type hikes (see our Nature-Hiking page for trail types), including the Kilauea Lighthouse on the north shore of Kauai Island.
Finding trails on our own
When we went back to Hawaii in 2011, we purposed ourselves to find some challenging trails and spend time hiking. What we found was that there are some incredible trails that are quite enjoyable to hike. We ended up hiking 4 Hiking Trails in Oahu!
Click the link to possibly one of the best 10 hiking experiences ever, Stairway to Heaven in Oahu.
It is technically illegal to hike it, but people still do risk arrest and the $1,000 fine. If money and an arrest record is no object to you, we’d recommend it. But be careful, it’s off limits for a reason. It’s highly dangerous and requires significant stamina to get to the top. However, just the pictures themselves from those who have hiked this trail are almost beyond belief. To see that in person? Priceless.
We did NOT hike the Stairway to Heaven trail, but we did hike the Kuli’ou’ou Ridge Trail (see link to separate post) and some other smaller trails (4 Hiking Trails in Oahu).