Hike recommendations and footwear

[bobogator]

Super excited about our 7 day stay at Aulani in late December and early January! I'm planning our itinerary, and I'm on the "nature hike" line item. Any recommendations on good hikes for novice hikers? Waterfalls, rainforests and beautiful views would be great. Aulani offers the Mānoa Valley Rainforest & Bamboo Forest Hike, which looks great.

Also, are hiking shoes (e.g. Merrell) a necessity, or will something like Teva sandals or running sneakers be ok?

Thanks!

 

[poison ivy]

We just hiked Diamond Head the past Thanksgiving weekend. http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/oahu/diamond-head-state-monument/ it's .8 miles each way and the trail zig zags up the mountain. (steps are only at the peak) Perfect for the novice hiker. If you are really ambitious you should plan to arrive exactly at 6 am when it opens and watch the sunrise from the top the mountain. So beautiful. WE did this and loved it!!! spectacular views of Honolulu and the Island.

Footwear was just my regular pair of Nike's with a decent grip. No need for expensive hiking shoes. the trail is not a challenging terrain. I'll post some pics when I get a chance later today.

My daughter attempted one of the waterfall hikes and abandoned it due to mud and poor footwear. She said the path had many large pools of water and mud and the rocks were slippery. I'll find out which one.

It lightly rains briefly almost daily in Hawaii with tropical rain forest conditions. Nothing you can't manage but in the dense areas it could get muddy.

 

[nkereina]

We did Diamond Head and we also did Waimea Valley. Diamond Head wasn't challenging necessarily, but it is in the direct sunlight, with uneven terrain, and is mostly uphill with stairs at different points. I'm in OK physical shape but it had me slightly winded. Just a warning for someone who may be older, have physical limitations, or is just completely out of shape. DH and I both wore regular Nike running shoes for this and it was fine.

Waimea Valley is up in the North Shore and was a paved walkway through beautiful gardens. At the end of the walkway is water with a pretty waterfall. You are permitted to swim there, but are required to wear a life jacket. We saw tons of different plants, flowers, and peacocks roaming free. Lots of shade around too. There was a $16 admission per person which we thought was a touch high, but it was very beautiful and a very easy walk (more of a walk than a hike). Regular sneakers were fine for this as well.

 

[bobogator]

Thank you for your replies. We're definitely doing Diamond Head, and the plan is to time it with the sunset. I'm sure it will be beautiful. I've watched youtube videos of the Manoa Falls and Waimea Valley falls hikes, and they both look great...not sure yet which we'll do...maybe both. I wonder if driving over to the Manoa hike entrance would be better than doing it with an Aulani excursion group. The youtube videos make it seem like it's doable on your own.

 

[pamelaj]

We hiked Diamond Head and Waimea Valley and our 6 and 8 year olds recently. Both kids were fine, the hikes were good for beginners. We wore tevas and didn't have any trouble with either hike. If I had to choose one, I would choose Waimea Valley. Diamond Head was crowded (even early in the morning) and the valley was just beautiful. It felt very different from the area around Aulani.
Hope it is great!

 

[bobogator]

Thanks Pamela! I'm thinking we'll do both hikes...they both look great. Arriving in 7 days!

 

[setokaiba]

Makapuu Light house is a must... during winter you can see whales and IT's FREE!!!! if you bring snorkel gear during the summer, it is safe to go to the tidepools. Do NOT go when there are waves. It may look safe for a little whilt but could get VERY big very fast

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

We did Diamond Head as well. We all just had regular running/cross training shoes and did just fine. Even my 3 1/2 year old survived just fine
On a side note, it was shocking to see so many unprepared tourists there. Women in wedges, platforms, sandals. Babies in flip flops. Elderly people with no chance of making it to the top with canes and the like. It was very weird! To be fair, we are from Colorado and hike often. But, oh my! It was nuts.

 

[MouseOfCards]

We did Diamond Head as well. We all just had regular running/cross training shoes and did just fine. Even my 3 1/5 year old survived just fine
On a side note, it was shocking to see so many unprepared tourists there. Women in wedges, platforms, sandals. Babies in flip flops. Elderly people with no chance of making it to the top with canes and the like. It was very weird! To be fair, we are from Colorado and hike often. But, oh my! It was nuts.

Wow, I think you mentioned everyone in our family!

 

[nkereina]

We did Diamond Head as well. We all just had regular running/cross training shoes and did just fine. Even my 3 1/2 year old survived just fine
On a side note, it was shocking to see so many unprepared tourists there. Women in wedges, platforms, sandals. Babies in flip flops. Elderly people with no chance of making it to the top with canes and the like. It was very weird! To be fair, we are from Colorado and hike often. But, oh my! It was nuts.

We saw that too and honestly, I think it's because so many people think hiking Diamond Head is like a walk in the park. IMO, it's not. We don't hike ever but are in our 30s, average weight and size, and moderately active. We were pretty winded and "felt the burn" so to speak. I had to take a second on the stairs. By the time we reached the top, I was very sweaty. I had sneakers and workout clothes on so I came prepared. I think as long as people realize it's truly a hike with some effort involved, then they can go into it dressed right and have the right expectations.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

We saw that too and honestly, I think it's because so many people think hiking Diamond Head is like a walk in the park. IMO, it's not. We don't hike ever but are in our 30s, average weight and size, and moderately active. We were pretty winded and "felt the burn" so to speak. I had to take a second on the stairs. By the time we reached the top, I was very sweaty. I had sneakers and workout clothes on so I came prepared. I think as long as people realize it's truly a hike with some effort involved, then they can go into it dressed right and have the right expectations.

Definitely not a walk in the park! Also, it was quite crowded and you had to be very mindful of the people around you. It was certainly not the leisurely stroll that some people seemed to be expecting. Those stairs were steep! I actually saw women in high wedge sandals there. I was slipping in the muddy sections in my sneakers. You're right, as long as people are prepared and have reasonable expectations it's doable.

 

[ehrawn]

Super excited about our 7 day stay at Aulani in late December and early January! I'm planning our itinerary, and I'm on the "nature hike" line item. Any recommendations on good hikes for novice hikers? Waterfalls, rainforests and beautiful views would be great. Aulani offers the Mānoa Valley Rainforest & Bamboo Forest Hike, which looks great.

Also, are hiking shoes (e.g. Merrell) a necessity, or will something like Teva sandals or running sneakers be ok?

Thanks!

Here's the list of DLNR maintained trails:
https://hawaiitrails.org/

What is the age range and fitness level of your group? Manoa Falls is a favorite of our family- good for little ones (2 & 4 legged variety). Plenty of people do it barefoot, but I would recommend to at least wear slippers. In general, my footwear suggestion for all hiking on Oahu is regular running shoes w/ trail spikes for muddy steep hikes (Manoa Falls is not in this category), or trail shoes with a good lug and drainage (no waterproofing).



Since you will be on the West Side, though, I would recommend hiking to Kaena Point. Though it is probably not the beautiful, lush rain forest you have in your head, it is very secluded and chock full of albatross and monk seals.

 

[cgattis]

Here's the list of DLNR maintained trails:
https://hawaiitrails.org/

What is the age range and fitness level of your group? Manoa Falls is a favorite of our family- good for little ones (2 & 4 legged variety). Plenty of people do it barefoot, but I would recommend to at least wear slippers. In general, my footwear suggestion for all hiking on Oahu is regular running shoes w/ trail spikes for muddy steep hikes (Manoa Falls is not in this category), or trail shoes with a good lug and drainage (no waterproofing).

View attachment 224641

Since you will be on the West Side, though, I would recommend hiking to Kaena Point. Though it is probably not the beautiful, lush rain forest you have in your head, it is very secluded and chock full of albatross and monk seals.

Adorable pic!!

 

[Brians_myth]

It is basically what you're looking for. Kuliouou is an amazing hike. It's about 3 1/2 hours to hike, can get steep at times (stairs), but has an amazing view from 2000' up.

 

[Emagine]

If you can do it do an island hop to the big island to Volcano Nat Park. We did a ton of hiking over there. We did not do the bikes, boats or shuttles and wanted to hike with our camera gear into the plume and lava coming down the mtn. Go around 3, get a parking spot and you will be roughly 4.3 miles from the last barrier on foot (one way) to the plume. It is an amazing walk. You go through the houses and some 'replaced' street signs that were wiped out. You can venture off the beaten path. We did the path to the lava flow and camped out till after sunset. Then we went the other direction to the hills and flows after dark to see the rocks lit up. You are no longer on 'flat' ground and will need a headlamp, great boots and I used a hiking stick at this point because I was climbing some deep areas. In that trek alone we did 14.8 miles.

There are tons of other places you can see the locals going that are not advertised if you get off onto some of less advertised places. We ended up on a very pretty beach that they surf on that we followed some to that willingly showed us the way. It put the black sand beach to shame. The path was tricky but well worth it. We tend to do stuff like that though when we travel as we are not huge on tourist traps. The fissures and the deep rooted steam vents are cool to get back into also. We just got back a week ago today and we are planning another island hopping hiking adventure already for more photo ops.