Pu’u Ma’eli’eli Digging Hill

Wow!!! Amazing views of Kaneohe Bay, Waikane, and the Kuloa areas from the top bunker of this hike. While it’s a short uphill (about 1.2 miles), the beginning section is very steep and super slippery (at least yesterday it was). Wish I’d had my microspikes for the slippery/​muddy hills. There are some steep parts about ½ to ²⁄₃ of the way up but those weren’t slippery so no problems. One section near the top has a couple of ropes that were helpful going down — but not necessary. Regardless, this is a stellar view hike and not very crowded. Bring your microspikes and/​or hiking sticks.
Park near the Koolau center parking lot (we parked on the street to avoid any issues about parking in the center’s lot). Walk down the street (Hui Iwa) next to McDonalds, cross the street (Kahekili Hwy) and walk parallel to the guard rail heading slightly uphill. Cross over the guard rail (still walking against traffic slightly uphill) and soon you’ll see a small opening just to the left of a «No trespassing» sign. Head in there and you’re on the trail.
The trail is pretty easy to follow. There were numerous pink ribbons along the way marking the trail. Even without them, this trail is pretty intuitive with only a couple of possible side trails to confuse you. Just follow the main trail and you’ll get to the top. Watch your head under the numerous trees you have to duck under while climbing up.
At the top — whoa, the views are awesome. So far this hike has produced our best views from any hike we’ve done on Oahu.
We’ll bring visitors to this beautiful place.

Start the hike about 150 yards south of the intersection of the Ahuimanu McDonalds and shopping center. There is a not easily seen trailhead on the northern side of the road. About a 1 – 1.5 mile hike leads to an old WW2 training pill box at the top of He’eia state park. Truly stunning panoramic views of the entire Kaneohe Bay make the trip worthwhile. However, the trail can be MUDDY if it has rained recently. Wear old shoes and take something to put them in before getting in your car. From the pillbox it looks like there may also be a trail going north toward the water, but it isn’t marked and I’m not sure exactly where it leads.

Why have I not heard of this hike sooner? It’s just like Laniaki Pillbox, but with SHADE!
We parked on the street next to McDonalds at the Koolau Shopping Center. From there, when facing the Valley of the Temples we went left and followed closely to the side guard rails towards the incoming cars. It’s easy to find the starting point for this trail, just look for this trail marker
At the end of the hike, you will reach a bunker with a beautiful view of Kaneohe Bay. It took us less than two hours to get back to our cars.
We were fortunate enough to come when it really wasn’t that muddy. I recommend not to do this hike if it did rain recently, because it would be more challenging. I noticed other hikes brought their dogs on this trail too.
Overall I really enjoyed this hike, it was challenging because it was uphill and we did have to take a couple breaks just to catch our breaths, lol. But honestly wasn’t terribly hard.

Great Hike. Harder than others say, but totally worth the trip. We did it with four kids, my three year old walked it with complaints and my wife carried our three month old. Recommend bug spray and sunscreen as well as water. Park near the McDonalds and walk back down the highway to the entrance. Trail isn’t marked but you can’t miss it. Worth the trip. Beware the mud.

Short partially shaded hike to a pillbox with a breathtaking view.
There are a couple different options to get to the pillbox:
A. Park at/​near the McDonald’s at Ko’olau Center (the center that has Consolidated Theatres Ko’olau, across from Valley of the Temples Memorial Park) and walk against traffic until you see a trailhead to your left. This is a slightly longer but less steep way to get to the pillbox.
B. Head makai on Hui Iwa St (the first right after you pass Ko’olau Center if you’re heading north) and then park when you see a small playground on your left. There’s a trail right behind the playground that will also lead to the pillbox. This trail is shorter, steeper, and can get overgrown and muddy if it’s been raining recently.
The last time I went, I did both of the trails to make a little loop: I started at the playground, went to the pillbox, and then took the other trail to get back down.

Did this hike yesterday on a very cloudy and rainy day, but still was able to see a fantastic view of Kaneohe Bay through the clouds. First start by parking at the McDonald’s/times supermarket off of Kahekili Highway. Then, walk up alongside the highway, going against/​towards oncoming traffic following the guardrail on the left (not the same side of the street as the Valley of the Temples). After about 45 seconds the rail will end and you will see an opening of the gate besides a no trespassing sign. I do believe the trail is legal, especially since I saw a school field trip up there when I went. You follow the trail approx 30 minutes, always making on left at the forks except for one right. The time you take a right is after approx 2 left fork options and when u see the next fork in the trail the left goes downwards whereas the right trail continues uphill, take the uphill path. Ultimately, the hike is very easy, except very muddy; especially since it was raining during the vast majority of my hike. At the end you reach two bunkers, the last with a great view of chinamans hat, the sand bars, and KBay! Enjoy!
Tip: being mosquito repellent!

Amazing hike down on the Windward side. Didn’t know there was a Pillbox there till now.
1. Finding the hike is easy. Reading the reviews on Unilocal really helped. All you gotta do is park on that street right before the shopping center and McDonald’s. Parking on the street can be filled. Just be patient, you’ll find a stall. While walking down that street take a left when u hit the Mainroad and the traffic light. Stay close to the guardrail or even walk on the other side of it. Be careful doe there is a ditch. Keep walking till u see a sign that says private property. The trail head is tonthe left of that sign. Dont worry you not trespassing.
2. The trail is easy. Little harder if it drizzle or rain the night before because the hills can get muddy. But first incline is at the start. Its not reall intense but will give u a little leg excerise. When u get to the top of that hill stay to the left of the fork. Another trail takes u right. Dont know where that goes but stay left at the fork.
3. The rest of the trail is a walk in the park besides little more rolling hills and low tree branches hanging. When you get almost to the top is the 2^nd steep hill. Yes there is a rope to guide or help u up that hill. But with a GoPro stick in one hand i just took it like a champ and kept my legs moving till the top.
4. When at the top you’ll see one Pillbox that is hidden. Its nice but the prize of this hike is the second pillbox a little more ways in. Its gives you breathtaking views of kaneohe and the bay. Hope this review helps my fellow Unilocal users. BTW be respectful and dont leave trash anywhere. Its a beautiful hike and so far still clean.

If your looking for a mini pill box this is it :) it’s fun and easier… I took my 4 year old with
1. Park at Kaneohe shopping center. Between the theatre and McD is good
2. Entrance is at across the street along side Kahekili
when you cross the street don’t head towards the graveyard. Cross and head toward oncoming traffic. Follow the guard rail till the end and you should see the trail head and a no trespassing sign
3. Yes it does say no trespassing but I honestly believe that it’s meant for the other side of that sign… I promise to do more research on that
4. The beginning is a small hill but after that it’s an easy 1 mile stroll after that
5. When you get near the end you will see a rope to climb up. i think going up you won’t need it. Going down will help
6. Puu Maele ele sign… take the time to read the litto story… its Hawaiian tale. very cute
7. Congratulations! The view will be amazing. To your right kbay and Kaneohe… directly in front the popular sand bar and to your left Kahaluu ooooh and Chinamen’s hat
8. Stay and enjoy the view
9. The stroll out will seem faster then in
10. Don’t ruin your healthy walk by eating McDonalds lol… head to subway in the same shopping center!

This is a short hike with two possible trailheads, you can search around on the web to find that out. This hike is partially covered by the trees but has no breeze until you reach the top. Not a really crowded hike YET!!!

Awesome trail! We pulled up and were a little confused on where to enter. If you turn onto Hui Iwa Street and the McDonald’s is on your left there should be street parking right there on the left and right hand side. Then go out to the main road (Kahekili Hwy) and walk to the left by the guardrail walking towards incoming traffic. Follow the guard rail on the same side of the street as the town homes and McDonald’s about 300 feet and then right when it ends there is the trail entrance. Don’t be worried about the private property signs, the private property is to the right of the trail.
The trail itself was pretty dry today. It was humid in certain areas and breezy in others, so it’s smart to pack at least a 32 ounce water bottle per person. I also had my pup who is pretty athletic and drank 1.5 — 32 ounce water bottles himself. There were a couple peak a boo look out spots to see K Bay but the money shot was at the top. Probably took us an hour to get up, but the 180*+ view was unbelievable and very calming. We chilled on top of these WWII bunkers at the top and you could see everything from the China mans hat, marine base, K Bay and more. Also got to see some planes fly into the base pretty cool. Very awesome highly recommend this trail and make sure you bring water and some hiking boots or something that will bite the dirt/​rock terrain.

So I’m not the hiking fanatic but I did it! Lol… hike had several incline hills… I wanted to just give up lol. but we kept at it. for most of the hike you r shaded by trees but the downfall is, it blocks a lot of the breeze. Trail is well identified but remnants of the pink ribbon marking the trail was hard to notice. We entered the trail from kahekili and stuck the the left of the fork at the top of the hill.
At the last hill there is a rope to help pull u up and bring u down bc its so steep. Got to the top and the view was all worth it! Kaneohe bay to kualoa you can see. We hiked around 715am and started heading down around 930a. We saw more people on our way down.

I’ve read a lot of great views about this hike so I decided to try it out. Today probably wasn’t the best day to go, but it wasn’t the worst either. It was raining on the H-​3 freeway on our way there, but the rain stopped once we go out of the H-​3 tunnel. At first, I was a bit confused on where to find the trail head of this hike from reading some of the reviews, but we were able to put the pieces together and find the start of the trail.
First of all, to find parking, there is street parking on Hui Iwa Street. Once you see McDonalds at Koolau shopping center, you make a right off of Kahekili highway going toward the townhouses. Valley of the Temples is directly across of McDonalds. We easily found street parking here.
Now to find the trail head, you will have to walk back toward Kahekili highway SOUTH BOUND. So as you are walking back down toward Kahekilli highway, McDonalds will be on your right, you will have to make a LEFT onto Kahekili highway (do not cross the street, the trail head is on the same side of the road as McDonalds). Yes there is no sidewalk so you have to walk along the guard rails, preferably not on the same side the roads are coming lol. You will notice a large ditch on your left as you are walking along the guard rails. Right when that ditch ends you will see an opening in the trees and you have reached the beginning of the trail!
Once you reach the rope toward the top of the trail, remember that you are almost to the top!

I like this trail because it is fairly easy and not crowded at all! At the end of the hike, you will reach a bunker with a beautiful view of Kaneohe Bay. I would say this hike takes about an hour.
Notes for new hikers:
1. Park along the street by Koolau Shopping Center (McDonalds side). There’s parallel street parking along the street so should be easy to find parking. I never park at the shopping center for fear of being towed if someone spots me walking away from the center lol. play it safe!
2. Across from McDonalds is Valley of the Temples, so the best way for me to describe is to stay on McDonalds side, walk across the street toward the incoming cars, closely to the side guard rails. You’ll see a path open up behind a sign to enter the trail.
3. The beginning can be quite steep and muddy if it had just rained… so I suggest to go on a sunny day, or a few days/​week after it has rained. Its no fun going up and down in the mud haha.
4. No bathrooms, so I use the one at McDonalds before or after the hike. I feel bad sometimes for using their bathroom so I make sure to buy something small lol.

I’m surprised this isn’t a well-​known hike because the view at the top is phenomenal! The first portion of the hike has a big incline, along with a few other spots on the hike. This served a problem since we went a few hours after some rainfall because these spots were very muddy. We had to use our hands to climb up. Towards the end, there’s a rope to pull your way up a steep incline portion.
Contrary to some other reviews, I don’t recommend it for little children, especially when it’s muddy. Those inclined portions were definitely killer. Don’t recommend to those who fear heights either (I am deathly afraid of heights but hey, I still survived haha).
There is a fork in the road a little past the beginning of the trail: left takes you to a shorter route (~1 mile) and the right takes you to a longer hike (~3 miles). We took the shorter route, but round trip it took us 3 hours since it was so muddy.
Follow the pink ribbons on the trees, and you should be fine! Enjoy the scenery throughout because it is definitely breathtaking!

This hike was a challenging way up because it was muddy, but so worth it at the end!
This hike was easy to find. The trailhead is by the Koolau Shopping Center. You’re going to want the find the first guard rail by the street light and homes, and the trailhead is at the end of that guardrail.
Some of the hike was uphill, and some of it was just regular. Since we went when it was wet, it’s difficult to get up and down inclines so really watch your step! Either way, this hike was definitely worth it! I’d do it again someday, but maybe not when it’s muddy and slippery!

My 3 year old son hiked all the way to the top. Quite a feat since there are many hills with steep inclines, roots sticking out, & slippery mud. We had to carry him down most of the way, though, since it had just rained once we decided to head down, making the hike down much more slippery.
But if my 3 year old can make it up, so can you ;)
Spectacular view of my home, Kāné’ohe Bay.
We parked right outside of Ko’olau Center by the townhouses & walked to the trail entrance.
Make sure to bring a change of shoes so you’re not getting tons of mud in your car.
Enjoy!

Great hike with an amazing view at the top. Drive to 47 – 250 Hui Iwa St, Kaneohe, which is the Ko’ Olau shopping area. Park near McDonald’s, then walk south on the main highway. After the guardrail you’ll see the trail marker. Head in!
I took the long route… top of the first big hill, go right and then follow the pink ribbons.
has worked hard to maintain and mark this route. It’s close to 3 miles of mud, steep hills, and switchbacks to the bunker. This route is an intermediate hike.
Then I came down the easy (regular) way, about 1 mile. If you go up and down this way only, then this hike is good for beginners, kids and dogs.
This hike is steep, and hiking shoes are needed.

The hike is fairly easy — just like other pillbox hikes around the island. The thing about this one is the amount of nature and green around you — keeps the heat from the humidity trapped in!
We parked at the Mcdonalds at the shopping center and walked to the trail head (which is down the highway going against the traffic) it’ll be fairly easy to spot since there is a yellow marker. Just enter there and begin your hike! Enter and exiting in the same opening. The beginning can be quite a challenge if it had rained a couple days before since it very dirt-​based and somewhat steep. Keep a good pace and footing on the ground, don’t slip, and you’ll be good! Keep walking up (maybe about 20 minutes and you’ll be good!). Enjoy the beautiful view of kbay!
It also can be wet, since you are in Kaneohe! So don’t forget your bug spray.

I loved this hike. The first time I went I saw maybe one or two others on the hike. But they were with what looked like hunting dogs.
The second time I went though the pillboxes were trashed. I have nothing against people getting into hiking and such. However, please pick up your trash. And some spots are not meant to be exposed. I liked this hike when it was empty and we had the trail to ourselves. But with social media the trail has been exposed and more people have been leaving trash and such. Pick up after yourselves. It’s not that difficult.
The views from the hike are gorgeous and it’s not too strenuous either. A little hard to find the beginning but once you do it’s a pretty clear path. Just follow the ribbons.

YAY! This is another treasure of a hike I’m adding to my repertoire! I had to bounce around the internet gathering all the deets on this hike so to give back to my beloved Unilocal community, here is all the info you need packaged neatly and tied up in a pretty bow :)
Why this trail rocks:
–The pay off isn’t until the very end but
.gorgeous you see all of Kaneohe Bay and its sandbars and up towards Chinaman’s hat!
–Trail is mostly shaded
–Trail paths are clear and easy to see
–You come upon 2 WWII bunkers that are dug into the mountain. Cool! (A Unilocaler mentioned a homeless person living in there and anyway, they looked a bit dingy to me so I’m not sure I would venture in…)
–It’s one of the shorter hikes on Oahu
–Not well known so you’ll probably get the view all to yourself *tapping fingers* We didn’t see a soul when we were there
–When you’re done you can reward yourself with a Mcdee’s ice cream cone! Or an iced coffee! Or mighty wings! Or all of the above! :D:D:D
To note:
–This trail is mostly incline all the way up with a couple dips here and there. Then you go down the way you came
–This trail took us about 1.5 hrs for a fair paced walk with no stops and time to just hang out on the bunkers. We are fairly experienced hikers so I’d say 2 – 3 hours for novice hikers or if it’s been raining and the trail is muddy
–People say it’s safe for everyone but I honestly wouldn’t bring my parents here. I’ve taken them on Diamondhead and the Pillbox hike and they were just peachy. This hike is just a bit too steep with a rope section (not for climbing but for stability since it’s kinda steep and very slippery). It’s pretty ok going up but going downwards could be tricky for older/​younger/​novice hikers, espec since the beginning of the trail was muddy
–It’s compared to Lanikai Pillbox Hike a lot. The similarities: 2 WWII bunkers, steep climb to the stop, GORGEOUS views. The differences: This hike is shaded, and it’s longer and more strenuous. Also the reward is truly saved til the very end, not like at Lanikai where you’re enjoying it the whole climb.
To bring:
–A bottle of water
–Hiking shoes since it’s steep/​slippery at some spots
–Camera
Directions:
–Google map it to Valley of the Temples in Kaneohe, HI
–As you come upon the Valley of the Temples, you’ll see that across the 83 Hwy is a Mcdonalds. Turn towards it onto Hui Iwa St.
–Park on either side of the road, but be mindful of the signs
–Walk back towards the 83 Hwy
–Turn left onto the 83 Hwy and walk along the metal road barrier. Even though there is a shoulder on the road, be safe and try to stay as close to the barrier as possible.
–Right when the barrier ends is a fence that has a «Private Property» sign. To the left of this fence is a yellow pole marker and that is the start of the trail
–When you get to the top of the initial incline, there are a couple directional choices. GO LEFT.
–There are pink markers all along but whenever there are forks in the trail, pick the one that looks the most treaded upon. Make sure you’re generally headed up and north.
–The Pu’u Ma’eli’eli sign is at the end right before the WWII Bunkers. The view is at the 2^nd bunker. ENJOY!!!