Kealia Trail

This is my favorite hike on Oahu! Any time of day is perfect as there’s shade and sun throughout the hike. Great elevation at a steady incline; the best look out is about ¼ from the top (about 35 min in). An excellent spot to look for whales from at the right time of year! Just make sure you keep the trail clean!

Nice trail, off the beaten path. Not too many people there when I went. A few of the guys from work, my dog and I went to check out this hike. It wasn’t tough, as there is tons of shade going up with plenty of opportunities to take nice pictures. I do recommend some snacks and some extra water. The only way I could describe this hike is, it’s like walking in a continuous «Z» up a mountain. This seems like a good hike for beginners. Check it out if you get the chance.

I have been bringing my kids here since I was carrying them in the bjorn. Now my 5 year old can complete it on her own :)
It’s a beautiful, safe, well maintained trail that goes up the Waianae Mountain range with ocean views (we watched whales while we hiked in January, which was amazing!)
At the top (about one mile up) These is a picnic table and shade. If you continue hiking up the mountain, you will eventually end up looking over Waianae. Be sure to keep hiking to the right, because I took a wrong turn and ended up hiking an extra 30 minutes. Always go right!
The hike after the picnic table is a lot of up hill and mostly on a dirt road.
Again I repeat, stay right!

Great thigh burner hike! Took us a few hours, but we took our time taking photos and enjoying the view. We also kept walking on down the road when we probably should have turned around.
The trail itself is pretty rocky, but fairly shady. That is until you near the top where the trail gets less rocky and shade disappears. We went early in the morning and didn’t see anyone else. It was a beautiful day. We could see the airfield taking up their gliders and we also could see a few whales way out in the ocean. I should say, we could see whale tales.
Definitely a hike I would do again, I would bring a picnic for the top too.

Love this one! Beautiful hike with a lot of pretty views of the ocean. Mostly shaded. It can get really slippery when wet.

Great trail with even better views!
While its a drive out on the edge of the North Shore, its worth it. Plenty of parking and easy to find. A mostly shaded hike with plenty of greenery and variety on the trail, you «billy goat» up the mountain through a series of switchbacks. Its a steep incline so prepare to get your heart going, just remember to stop and look at the view from time to time. Great views of most of the North Shore, and refreshing breezes too. At the top there is a covered picnic table to refuel. Bring plenty of water and give yourself about 3 hrs.
I would consider this a intermediate to difficult hike.

This trail was one of the more boring I’ve been on in Oahu. There isn’t much of a change in scenery or views, either. I will not be hiking this trail again.

Enjoyable hike. Only went about half way up (maybe half mile) and the views were more than worth it. A little muddy and rocky, but more than doable. There were kids 5 years old, parents and older people doing the hike. We also brought our dog and he did really well on the trail. Plenty of switchbacks on the trail with sweet views.

There are 19 switchback turns on the hike, so use this as motivation to push through! It is 1.3 miles up, but there is a picnic table and lots of shade at the top!
This hike, though the terrain can be annoying at times, is definitely one that everyone who likes to hike and lives in Hawaii should do at least once in their life. The view of Makua Valley, the ocean, and the research facility lake is breathtaking so don’t forget your camera (or your phone if your smart phone is from this generation)!!
Because it was very rainy last week (thanks Himenes), the grass and leaves were very overgrown in some parts. The heat is very intense when you get higher up, as there is no trees offering shade. So bring sunscreen!

This is a long but beautiful trail near Kaena Point, on the other side of the Dillingham Airport. We parked next to some building and what looked like a parking area/​garage for planes. Then we walked across the street onto a dirt road. You will see the Kealia sign before you enter to know if you are going the right way…
I was super excited to do it because of the beautiful views at the top. However, those switchbacks are no joke. There had to have been like 20+ switchbacks, and we were powering through to the top. We made it to the picnic table and turned around to go back down. I’ve been told that’s close to the top, but I’m not too sure. In all, the time it took us from the bottom to get to the picnic table was about 1hr, but again, we were walking really quickly. It may take 1.5hours for some. The time to get down was a lot quicker, I would say about 45mins.
Definitely bring water, it gets hot and exhausting. You can bring food/​snacks to eat at the top once you get up there.
Overall, the views were amazing and it was great for the workout that we wanted to get in for the day!

Not for the timid, not for the weak, especially on a hot summer day. Saw a few groups turn back before finishing.
I went with a large group of dudes and even a few of us were too exhausted to carry on.
Bring lots of water and a few snacks/​meal. If you’re a water buffalo that sucks up water, bring a gallon. Simply for the changes in elevation and uphill mountain walking.
A walking stick helps also. When you get to a gate turn right and keep walking. You’ll find fresh guava along the way. There are lots of areas to explore along the mountains and ridge trail. The pictures will speak for themselves.
And it wasn’t muddy and I didn’t need bug spray.

Definitely one for the books!
You start by entering from the West gate and drive along the path until you reach a parking lot on your left. The entrance is across from the parking lot on a gravel pathway. As you walk, you will come across a couple forks in the road, always keep to your left. There will eventually be a fenced gate with a Kealia Trail sign.
This trail zig-​zags upward with a moderate incline that will definitely give you a good leg and cardio workout. You should stop at the areas with open view to take in the amazing ocean scenery. There are spots throughout the trail with shade so you will not be constantly scorched by the sun.
I only go on hikes once in a blue moon so it took us about 45min-​1hr to reach the picnic table with a few short couple minute water breaks in between.
We did continue past the picnic table onto the car access road for about another 1hr 15min– 1hr 30min and it was definitely not worth it. Your view is constantly blocked by trees so there was not much to see. Although, there was a good amount of shade so that made it more bearable. This pathway after the picnic table is more for those who are hunting for wild boars, not those who are seeking scenery so I do not recommend continuing after the picnic table.

Very nice hike on the North Shore. It’s a doable hike and you’ll be constantly going up through about 19 – 20 switchbacks, though you’ll be rewarded with excellent views of the Dillingham Airport, North Shore, and Pacific Ocean.
Pretty rocky at times and there are opportunities for shade throughout the trail. The end of the trail is at the picnic table, though there is a service road that continues even further. Wasn’t about to do that service road, however. Should probably allow about 1−½ to 2 hours for this part of the trail (round-​trip).

Combine the heat and and seemingly endless, inclined, rocky switchbacks and Kealia Trail is what you’ll get.
It can be short or long depending on what you’re aiming for. I only made it to the picnic table/​flat clearing which is the end of the trail. However, there are «service roads» that trail further up if you wish to make it more of a challenge.
While this was a good workout, the best views are along hiking the trail. The view from the clearing at the top is hidden by trees. — an unfortunate discovery.
I wore insect repellant but there were minimal bugs hiking up. Just be sure to bring a lot of water!

I really love doing this hike. It will get your heart pumping! Good workout and do-​able for the whole family. Plenty of little kids on this trail, parents with their babies strapped to their backs, and hikers with their dogs. I’m always blown away by the views you get of the north shore when you begin to get higher, always stopping to take pictures along the way. It’s an enjoyable hike up to the picnic tables, after the tables, however, there are some killer hills as it leads you inward toward the valley and you don’t get any views.
Overall, great hike!

Great views along the trail! Not busy during the week since we went on a Tuesday afternoon and only saw a handful of other hikers. It’s dog friendly– our 3 yr old lab came along and she seemed to enjoy the hike. An added bonus: we saw lots of gliders in the sky along the path. Overall we enjoyed the views, the workout and will be back for sure to see what’s further down the trail.

This can be a relatively easy hike unless you don’t turn around at the picnic table and keep heading back up the cardiac hills to the other trails. We went about 4 miles to a lookout of a beautiful mountainous valley. It wasn’t s lookout that you just happen upon. At one point the trail forked and we took the right path to a dead end where we could climb down a little to see a beautiful valley and mountain range. The trail to the left kept going and going. We did a total of about 8 miles round trip and we ran a good hut of it. Amazing workout. Some of the hills past the picnic table on the dirt roads are intense. We sprinted up a few but wow. Hardcore.
If you don’t go past the picnic table, it’s an easy, shaded, pleasant hike with a beautiful view of the north shore. It is kid and pet friendly for sure. But I wouldn’t bring my kids any further than the picnic table. The views are hidden past the picnic table unless you venture off the trail a bit.
Overall I really enjoyed this hike. Not too crowded!

Very moderate hike. A lot of snake like trail, great workout. The picnic bench was the end though other hikers said you can keep going futher. We tried but too hot. Next time we will go earlier.
Trying to find the area is a bit hard, you can go through the plane section it will lead you there.

Great beginner+ hike. About 3 miles r/​t. Takes less than 2 hours with children. It’s steep going up on the switchbacks, but the views make the effort worth it! Good hiking shoes a must because it’s very rocky at times. At the top there’s a picnic table and an open area for resting in the shade. Parking is plentiful and there are no public restrooms. There were a lot of dogs enjoying this hike.
More info and directions:
And more about the whole Waianae trail system:

This hike is near the dilingham airfield. Enter the WEST gate, drive down the road until you see a parking lot to your left. You can park there, and the trial head begins right across the parking lot.
Most of this hike is an incline, so you will definitely get in a leg and cardio work out. But there are lots of pockets of shades to stop and rest at if needed. We stopped once we got to the benches. The view throughout the hike is absolutely breath-​taking but once you reach the benches the view is blocked by those weird trees you find all over bellows beach.
It took us an hour up and 45 minutes down. You can definitely continue the hike after the benches, but I can’t speak on what’s there or how far it is until you hit the summit.