Okolehao Trail

So the first day, i go up there with a liter of water and a granola bar. My goal was to hike to the ear where there is a tree sticking out, visible from far away. Well, i hike up 35 minutes and i see a bench, i am thinking, that was easy! Huh, when i got back, i was looking at the pictures i took. As you can guess, i wasnt at the top, wasn’t even close. Because i still see the ear tip with the tree in the pictures, far far away :). By the way the water and snack was plenty for me, i don’t need to go prepared as much but i would recommend going prepared specially for the past the bench portion of the hike. It is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, you need long pants and long sleeve shirt, unless you can endure the constant poking and scraping fern plants. I had to, as i was in my swim trunks and nothing else.
So day 2, i go back there, same amount of water and snack (there are a lot of those red berries you can eat alongside the trail, high in juice and vitamins. It will not make you sick. Eat as much as you can. Anyways, i am hiking past the bench and it ia getting harder and harder and harder. Dead fern plants digging in to my legs and chest as i bob and weave through the path. I climb down the first rope, than the 2^nd and the longest 3^rd one. I do not recommend going to hime this trail alone if your goal is to make it to the end. After the 3^rd rope i hiked quite a bit more and i was still too far away from the first tip of the mountain. I mean i am hiking and hiking and it seems like the top of the mountain is getting farther and farther. There are part of the hikes where you are scared to look at either side of you, as it is a very high drop into bunch of plants. Probably 70 degree andgle drop. The trail is very slippery. The rain will increase the odds of you being swallowed by the forest. But anyways, after a little further hike, i decided to turn around and try it some other time with a machete (as i was told i needed it to get to the top).
This trail sure has some great view points but only a few times thru out the trail, any other time you HAVE to keep your eyes on the trail, like i said, specially pass the first metal bench view point (i dont know if there is another one on the top).
Good luck to everyone.

Rigorous. Wow. Practically straight up. Saw a lot of unusual birds, trees, flowers. Wonder who lives at the end of this Ohiki Road ?? Anyone know? Whomever it is had a security guard at the gate. Probably that FacebookFuck. We loved this hike for the lack of people and abundance of unspoiled wilderness. I didn’t make it to the top. I drink too much beer. I’ll be back for another attempt soon. Aloha.

Nice hike, great view of Hanalei Bay at the top, but not much better than what you can get at the lookout. It’s a moderately strenuous hike, more than 2 miles straight up to the lookouts and even further if you continue past. Apparently there are some ropes at the top but we didn’t make it. I liked it better for the workout than the view!

This was a VERY challenging hike. But only because we went nearly three miles each way… We were in search of the mythical «bench». After our «strenuous» hike we looked into it and the bench has been gone for some time. There is a large plateau near the 2-​mile mark (mile markers disappeared after 1.75). I believe this is where that bench once stood. We kept going and went past 7 – 8 sketchy-​looking ropes to scale up or down steep inclines. It was an awesome workout but very muddy and one false step could send you tumbling to your death (past that 2-​mile point). However, the views were breathtaking. Oh, wear pants, shoes you don’t care about destroying (mud), and LOTS of bug spray! Four stars as opposed to five because I’m from Colorado and our trails are far better maintained than this one was…

Absolutely beautiful, and not absurdly strenuous. Just try not to go when it’s too muddy! The views up top are spectacular. Also, bring a ton of bug spray.

A muddy and strenuous hike, but the reward is great views of Hanelei Bay.
You start through some swampy area which give the mosquitoes a chance for a breakfast bite. Then it is a uphill climb which can also feature more mud and slippery footing, depending on the recent rainfall. We went about 1.25 miles to the second view point, as the first is marred by electrical lines, And the trail between the two is not too tough so I would suggest going for it.
Like we did, I would suggest going in the morning before it gets too hot. When driving from Princeville, cross the first one lane bridge and take the immediate left, and follow the road to the small parking lot.

This was well worth the short steep hike!
The start of the hike is definitely narrow and muddy (after the rain… which is usually always off and on in Kauai)
Grab a «walking stick» that other hikers have left behind. Located to left of the bridge at the beginning or your hike… may help you balance getting around those muddy trails.
Make use of your water resistant sunblock, & bug repellent.
— left here with a total of 18 mosquito bites!
Good to bring:
wet naps, and towel (as careful and girly as I was with the mud, I came outta there covered in it!)
extra pair of socks and shoes

Great trail with a nice view of hanalei at the top. The bottom get a little wet and muddy do be careful if we just had some rain!

This definitely is an intermediate trail. We are experienced hikers and we found it challenging. It was dry when we hiked it. It would be very treacherous if muddy. There are several times when you think you are «there» but you aren’t. Beautiful scenery. Lovely, rigorous hike

Great short hike, took my wife and mom up it. It’s pretty steep but like I said its short with a lookout of Hanalei ¾ mile and around 2 miles maybe less.

We saw this hike in a not so secret secret book… it warned us it is VERY steep basically the whole way up. The book did not lie!!! It was also quite muddy. The trail is about 1.8 miles then almost stops before it turns into a scarier trail. About 1.43 miles up is a plateau with bench and a nice view. After that was really muddy and not really worth it. The best views are from that bench area. I recommend a walking stick if you’re not an experienced hiker.
Apparently the trail was used during the prohibition era which is kind of neat.
All in all there are probably more scenic hikes to find but was a good workout.

Not too long a hike (~4 mi round-​trip), but the first part can be steep in parts.
Look for this bridge on the right of the road for the trailhead (
). There’s a dirt parking lot across the road.
After the first steep section you come to this overlook where the trail u-​turns (
). Nice, but power-​lines mar the view.
Keep going until you reach the bench with the Geo marker (
) where you’ll have unobstructed views of Hanalei Bay (
)

Firsts half steady climb. Second half very muddy and steep and bushes wack your legs. Got to such a steep part down on the trail that we had to turn around so never got to the waterfall another ½ mile in.

Nice elevation hike with nice view of Hanalei Valley.
I was always wondering what this road between these 2 little one lane bridges would take. We will do this again.
Unilocal 365 — ²⁴⁰⁄₃₆₅

Pretty Amazing Hike. We did it on a dry day and I can see how it would be difficult if it were muddy. I had a 15 month old on my back and was OK until about the 1.8−2.0 mile mark (started to head way down again and we decided to turn around because of the kid-​o). Definitely steep in parts and you have to watch your step, but I would recommend it if you can handle the 1200 foot elevation gain and you are staying in Princeville.

Weather was perfect for February — trail was about as dry as it could be this time of year. A few tough spots to get a foothold, but just had to take it one step at a time. Lots of roots in different places, which mostly provided places to get a foothold. I went to the vista with the sign that says «end of trail.» it was a little confusing, because you come on a vista right before that gives fantastic views of Hanalei Bay and the North Shore — but that’s not the end of the trail. It’s still about a 3 minute hike thru some serious underbrush. On the way back down, I met a group of hikers who looked like they were well into their 70s — one gentleman asked me if I went on the ropes trail. There’s a side trail off that vista before the end that leads up a ridge that I wasn’t going to try, and apparently you have to use those ropes. I wasn’t going to try that part of the trail, that day anyway. Great views, uncrowded — I set off around 9 am; saw two people on my way up, and about a dozen on my way down. I would NOT recommend this trail if it was raining.

Especially since there aren’t many hiking options around Hanalei, it was a real treat to find the Okolehao Trail. It starts as a lush jungle hike which then climbs steeply through dense forest. The views from the top are well worth the climb. It can get pretty muddy, so make sure to attempt long after the last rains.
A complete trail description and printable map can be found at:

Amazing views! I went up just over a mile, it felt like enough of a gift.

just over 2 miles long. or should i say UP! parking area off to the left and the trail starts across the road. We went when it was somewhat muddy and drizzling. A little slick going up. Very slick coming down! I slipped on my okole once on the way down. 1 mile point has very nice vistas of hanalei and beyond. we decided to turn back as it was raining alot! Will definitely return on a dry day! 1 and a half hours up and down. bring a camera, do the hike, head for a bar in hanalei and drink a cold one… or three!

This is a 2.25 mile trail that follows a ridge and climbs to an elevation of just over 1200 ft. The vistas at the top of this trail are absolutely amazing, one can see the entirety of the North Shore.
I read in a trail book that this was once a prohibition trail used when Okolehao was a popular liquor and the plants it is distilled from (Ki) line the trail.
This is a nice trail, it is only 4.5 miles round trip, but it is straight up for 2.25 miles, so the first half is a nice workout. We went the day after a rain, which was probably a mistake, because steep hikes and mud do not mesh particularly well together.
There are some difficult points, and it can be quite slippery, so that is something to be aware of.
All in all, a nice 1.5 hour hike, bring your camera because there are some wonderful shots to be taken!