Lanipo Trail

Gorgeous ridge hike. You’re rewarded with amazing views right away, which stay with you for the majority of the time. Even if you don’t have time to complete the whole thing, it’s worth going for the beginning because it’s so beautiful from the get go.
It’s easy to follow and not dangerous at all (saw a lot of other dogs and kids on the hike).
It’s moderate difficulty, but it’s long and gets hot up there, especially since a lot of it is not shaded. Go early and bring plenty of water. Your human may want some sunscreen.

The views on this trail are amazing!!! You can see Ka’au crater (maybe even people scaling the rim or the last waterfall). When you reach the summit you can see from Aiea to Hanauma Bay on the south side and from China Man’s Hat to Waimanalo on the north. Gorgeous!
Those beautiful views don’t come without some hard work. It’s not a dangerous hike at all BUT it’s long, there are some tough ascents, and shade is lacking in some areas. So I wouldn’t pick a super sunny day to go. In fact, I chose an overcast day and I think that was the best way to do it. The length and elevation can be challenging but if you’ve done some longer ridge hikes on the island, you should be fine. I wouldn’t start my hiking adventures with this trail or recommend it to tourists who’ve never spent any time on the Ko’olaus.
I brought 2L of water, coconut water, lunch, and snacks. Definitely needed all of them. Even ate strawberry guava along the trail. Round trip took me 6 hours but I spent a lot of time taking pictures and looking for guava, so I’m sure it can be done faster (though just keep in mind it’s about 7 miles roundtrip).
To get there, take Wilhemina Rise in Kaimuki until it ends. Hang a right on Maunalani Circle, you’ll go around a bend. You’ll eventually see a chain link fence on the right hand side with a brown sign. That’s the trail head. I parked right in this area as there was space and other cars parked. Just follow the trail from here, go up, you can’t get lost.
And after you do the hike you’ll feel me on this: omfg those uluhe fern!

The entrance to this trail is tough to find! I was embarassed to have to drive around the Maunalani Circle 3 times before I finally spotted the entrance, between a new home being constructed and a chain link fence with multiple «do not enter» signs. The entrance «alleyway» is only about 4 feet wide, and narrows significantly at some points before emerging behind the two properties.
I ran the trail (where possible) so keep that in mind. The trail actually begins with a long descent, then a series of climbs. There is a rope to assist with the climb in one spot. At some points along the ridgeline there are some sheer winds, but not so strong as to push you off. Compared to most hikes on Oahu, there is a LOT of «hands required» hiking\climbing on this trail. Also, towards the end the brush heavily crowds the trail so you have two choices: Either wear long pants or bleed. I bled. I brought 1.5L of water and had plenty left at the end. My distance was 7.7 miles and I was back at my car in an hour and 20 minutes.

After completing Kuliouou, Hawaii Loa, Wiliwilinui, Olomana, & Kaau Crater, I was looking for a longer, maybe more challenging hike. While Olomana & Kaau Crater are more technical, Lanipo was physically harder. Usually 1L of water is more than enough, but I ran out for the trip down. There was no trades this day, and cloud cover was pretty generous, but it was still hot as hell! I packed pants just in case and thank goodness! Got scratched pretty well and it was limiting my speed, but once I got pants on, I was able to pick up the pace. The uluhe ferns were at least waist high for the majority of the area it was growing, some shoulder height & I’m 5’6″. The sign at the entrance says: «Ka Inawa’au Nui Summit 3.5 mi, Lanipo Summit, 3.7 mi.» It took us 2hrs 8min to get to the top.
Towards the right there’s a short hill, followed by a taller hill which we assumed was the real Lanipo summit. The taller hill looked much farther than 0.2 miles. My friend & I decided to trek up there. Walking along the ridge wasn’t too bad since it looked like it hadn’t rained in awhile. Had it been raining or wet, we probably wouldn’t have done it. The trail was about 2 feet wide in some places, wider in others. The path to the top was steep, but there were defined footholds all the way up. We went slowly since the path was overgrown and there’s cliff on both sides, obviously. Parts of the trail were deceiving as there was foliage growing on the sides, but upon a closer look, there was no ground under it. Sure enough GPS tagged it as 0.2 miles and there was a little US Coast Survey marker identifying the hill as Lanipo. It took us 20 minutes one way.
Usually it’s faster and easier to get back down the mountain, but for this hike, it actually took longer. I was looking for a challenge and this hike delivered. I believe I was in a mild state of dehydration for the entire hike which wasn’t entirely bad… at least I didn’t have to pee.

This is a very long hike but worth every drop of sweat. It starts in St. Louis heights and it’s really two hikes in one long trip. Beautiful birds of Kauu crater. Have plenty of water and snacks before attempting this hike.

I did a fair amount of research before hiking Lanipo/Mau’umae Trail. Some people say it’s not bad, while others say it’s difficult. I would give it a ⁶⁄₁₀ for difficulty (it was not dangerous/​life threatening at all) and the trail is about 7 – 8 miles round trip. It took me 3 hours, 45 minutes to complete the hike, but I hike pretty quickly.
Notes:
–I didn’t read a lot about parking, so I’ll say that you can find parking near the trail on Maunalani Circle. I like that you don’t have to park far away and walk before getting to the trailhead.
–The trail DOES go up and down, so be prepared for hills. You might have already heard about the long descent that comes right at the start of the trail. It’s followed by a long uphill. It’s nice that it’s at the beginning, but that means it’s also there when you return. There’s a portion towards the middle of the hike where the ups and downs aren’t bad and you feel like you’re cruising, but the final push to the top is just uphill.
–I guess it depends on how thirsty you get, but I didn’t need more than 32 oz of water for this hike. I also didn’t need a mid-​hike snack, but I had one in the car when I finished.
–You should put sunscreen on before doing the hike, but the cloud cover was pretty sufficient the day I went so I didn’t feel I needed to reapply. It’s true that a lot of the trail is exposed, though, so it’s up to you.
–One thing I found to be true is the fern situation! I felt like I was walking through a thicket of cat claws. Ferns are so nice from afar, but when you try to walk through them they pull at your legs and scratch you up. And they’re not only knee-​level – there are ferns as tall as I am, it’s insane. By the end, I really felt like coming back with a weed whacker/​machete and showing them who’s boss! However, I don’t regret not wearing long pants. Who wants to hike in 80+F Hawaii weather?!
–Of course the view from the top was amazing. You can see the East Side of the island, along with Ka’au Crater, Diamond Head, etc.
I would say, don’t be afraid of this hike. If anything, the length is the biggest challenge, so it’s doable with enough time.

Ummm Lanipo hike well its a great hike but be prepared to hike for about 5 hours depending on yor pace and how in shape you are. Its not hard it is just long… LONG!!! The views however are wonderful.
You have views over looking Diamond head, Waikiki also Palolo Valley and on very clear days youll get other views.
I do recommend you wear pants because the overgrown ferns scratch up and beat up your legs. And maybe a jacket because it gets cold as you go further up but also depending on the weather.
There is also a beautiful view of Kaau Crater and the 3^rd waterfall. Its amazing!

With a five-​hour time limit, I wanted to do a trail that was moderately long, and in the Honolulu area. Lanio (or Mau’umae Ridge) fit the bill.
It is a definite up and down roller coaster of a hike. If you are not in good cardio shape, it will take it’s toll on you very easily. With the lack of shade (thankfully there was cloud cover and awesome winds), the sun can drain you quickly as well. At least 2L of water is recommended. So yeah, ups and downs constantly as you slowly gain elevation. Beyond the halfway point, you start running into the annoying parts of the trail: uluhe and mud. Let me tell you: If you do not want your legs scratched up, wear long pants. Do not expect to get out of this trail with a clean pair of shoes.
That being said, you can get a fantastic view of Ka’au Crater and a good view of the windward side on a clear day. Definitely good for cardio, just wear long pants and bring a good amount of water.

Beautiful hike with a beautiful view! Just be careful if you plan on walking all the way in past the unmarked trail, be prepared to get scratched up by ferns. I swear it felt like a million cats just clawing at my legs and ankles. It’s still really pretty all the way in, but just wear pants and long socks and you will enjoy it more. Also, bring water!

Lanipo is a great workout, easy to find, easy to follow — definitely one I would do again if I was hiking alone and needed some nice outdoor cardio. The fence at the trailhead is clearly marked and along almost the entire route you can see your destination (the summit, if that is where you’ll turn around) taunting you at its distance.
When you’ve reached the last third of the trek to the top, you’ll start to get great views of the Ka’au Crater hike on your left. This was pretty sweet to see the hike I despise so much: P The inside of the crater was nice and green.
I’ve done longer hikes but for some reason the damn summit at the Koolau looked so far away every time I stopped to drink some water and catch my breath! I thought I’d never reach it! In and out, it is a total of 7 miles.
At the top, we rested for a bit and turned right along the Koolau Summit trail and made our way to Wiliwilinui Summit (about another hour or so) to complete our hike.
Remember to wear sunscreen and a hat or sweatband cause no matter what, you will sweat. There are quite a few really pleasant covered areas of the trail that feel almost like walking in an air-​conditioned room for a moment but believe me, it doesn’t last long! You will get all different terrains and climates along this hike, which is what made it most enjoyable for me.
The trail was spectacularly maintained when I went (March 2013), thank you trail maintenance people of Oahu — your efforts are greatly appreciated!

The trail head is easy to find on this one, just park at the top of Maunalani circle along the side of the road and you’ll see an opening between two fences with a sign indicating where the trail starts. This trail is also known as Mau’umae trail which is what it says on the sign.
What I’ve learned is that me and muddy hikes just DON’T get along at all! I’m sure some people really like wet muddy hikes, but I’m just not a fan of them. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m definitely more of a ridge hiker. I wanted to try this hike to at least say I did it and add it to my list.
This trail starts out beautiful, hiking along nice ridges, going up and down some rocks with a nice cool breeze, right up my alley! The first ¹⁄₃ of the hike your in a nice open trail with great views of the mountains to your left and right, really liked it at first. There’s a a few points that forks off into two directions that eventually lead back to the same trail, one being the easier route and one being the more difficult challenging one. Of course I always some how find the more challenging route the more attractive way to go and take that route. A lot of times I find myself struggling up the more difficult trail only to find my friends who take the easier route already waiting and looking at me with their heads shaking because I always take the harder route, I don’t even realize that I’m doing that at times! 0_​o LOL Oh well, I am who I am!
The trail goes up and down a lot so it has a good balance between working your legs then getting a rest before going up again. There’s a couple summits with a really nice view in open grassy areas here and there that you can rest a bit and eat if you want to. I think a lot of people only go to this point and turn around because up ahead I didn’t know at the time what was waiting for me.
The trail THEN slowly starts turning into a muddy overgrown trail with branches that go over your head at times. There was a couple times I ran across what looked like strings of spider webs along the trail, which made me give a big hmmm guess not to many people do this hike very often… with good reason. The branches are constantly snagging your clothes and scratching up your legs as you walk. In the last ¹⁄₃ of the hike plants were so overgrown you could barely see the trail at times, plus I was getting soaked because the plants were dripping wet so that didn’t help the situation at all. I like to think I have pretty good balance but I was slipping a LOT and even fell back a couple times! haha There’s sections with just a ton of mud and nothing to hold on to so all you can do is just get low with some short choppy steps and try not to eat it. There’s also parts of the trail that got really narrow at times with a drop off right next to you, I let my guard down and lost my balance for a bit at one point and almost went over the side. Luckily I was able to grab at some of the branches to get my balance back! That was my fault for not taking this hike serious enough because I didn’t think of it as a dangerous one. You better believe the rest of the way I kept my focus on my footing!
Tip: Don’t take any hike for granted it can get really bad really fast!

The summit view was beautiful, it was a little cloudy but still really beautiful. I could see Ka’au Crater from a different angle which was pretty cool, the view helped ease some of the pain I had to go through to get there.
I usually find hikes to be very fun and relaxing but this one got me frustrated at times with a lot of the trail not being well maintained, the plants being so overgrown for majority of the trail that the branches were just continuously scratching and snagging at you, plus the really wet muddy slippery trail added to the madness. Imagine someone holding a stick and just keeps poking at you with it non stop! Yeah thats the kind of annoyance this trail can give you at times haha First ¹⁄₃ of the hike thumbs up! The rest of the hike thumbs down with a slight thumbs up for the view at the end. This hike will take you about 5 hours to complete depending on your pace and break times. I’m sure other people would enjoy this trail a lot more than I did, this one’s just not for me.

A few words of important advice before going on this trail.
1. Wear PANTS…
2. Bring WATER and SNACKS
3. Go EARLY (at least by 10:30)
I learned the hard way about number 1, so don’t be an idiot like me and wear shorts. The green ferns are really pretty at first but they soon turn into mean overgrown branches and scratch at your legs and ankles merciless till you have to grow numb to the pain. The trail is also muddy so don’t wear new sneakers.
Besides the obvious negatives of the trail, it was a fun hike. I would rate this hike as an intermediate-​advanced hike. There are a number of spots where its very narrow and you are climbing along a cliff which is covered by ferns so stay on the trail. On the way back my friend slipped and almost fell so be careful especially since you will be tired on the way back. Be ready for a lot of climbing up and down rocks, hills, and red dirt.
It took us about 4 hours to get to the summit, we took our sweet time in the beginning taking pictures and such so I think if you were to cut some of the dillydallying it could take from 3 – 3.5 hrs. The way down took us 2.5 hrs. Its a 7.5 mile trail round trip so prepare to spend at least half your day on the trail.
The views from the summit are breathtaking. You can see Kaneohe Bay, Olomana, Rabbit Island, and Honolulu. At times on the trail you may be frustrated by all the overgrown ferns which seem never-​ending but just stick with it, the view from the top is so worth it.
Unilocal 365: ¹¹⁰⁄₃₆₅