Mau’umae Trail

Awesome challenge. Not good for kids. Short trail but kick ass. It is also known to some, as the Lanipo Trail. When you park at the top of the Maunalani Circle, you will see the Board of Water Supply sign «NO TRESPASSING” — its a gated area but the trail starts to the right of the gate. There is the Mau’umae Trail (3.5 to the summit) and Lanipo Trail (1.5 miles).
After the initial descent down, you will find the bench about 20 – 40 minutes in depending on your pace. We saw many people along the way but they only went to the bench. Continue the trail and you will have ascending hills and descending hills. the terrain changes so be prepared for rocky, dry, roots, rutted, rope and a couple of iron wood areas that offer relief from the sun. The trail continues and you soon find yourself in the stag horn fern area. This part of the trail is quite overgrown — some areas as high as 6 – 7 feet. Few areas of mud — but if it rained the night before then you may encounter a muddier trail than we did. After a few pine trees, the ascent to the summit begins and some areas are really narrow and be sure to focus on your footing. The summit is gorgeous, well worth the hike. Similar views of the summits at Wiliwilinui (to the right), Wa’ahila (to the left) and Kulio’o (few ridges over to the right). But none-​the-​less, it is a spectacular breathtaking view. Bring lots of water and wear sunscreen and a hat; pants for the area of stag horn ferns (long sleeved shirt if you desire). I drank my entire 3L camo bladder plus a 16oz water bottle filled with added electrolytes. ENJOY!!!

takes about 5 hours, but not dangerous. awesome views almost the whole way. some loose dirt, so wear shoes and be careful. almost entirely uncovered, so wear a hat and sunscreen. do it

Most people call this the Lanipo hike. Park at the top of Maunalani Circle near the fence. There’s a sign at the start of the hike and you walk between the fences next to the home there to start it off. This is one of the harder hikes on this side of the island. It’s about 7 miles round trip and should take 4 – 5 hours to do at a decent pace.
At the time of my review the 2^nd half of the trail is very overgrown. The ferns will eat you alive! I suggest you wear long pants, long sleeves, and bring gloves. HTMC is planning to clear out the trail on ⁷⁄₂₁ according to their calender so you might want to go after that happens if possible.
You get a great view of Ka’au Crater on the left while you go up (see attached picture). If you look closely you can even see the waterfalls on your way up. You also get a nice view of Wiliwilinui on the right side while going up.

Found this trail through Unilocal and it was in my neighborhood of Wilhelmina Rise /​Kaimuki. Getting there is a challenge, since I didn’t have a car and I needed a hill work out anyway, so I scaled it from the bottom of the mountain and finally made it to the trail head in about an hour before taking on the trail. Needless to say that was just a warm up and I strive to have fun with this journey before flying out to the mainland again. With that said, the Mau’mae Trail sits on top of the Wilhelmina Rise mountain. With spectacular views and an epic panoramic photographic opportunities, this trail is very scenic and probably one of the better trails out there.
It’s close to home, so I didn’t have to go to Pu’u Pia in Manoa or take the bus to Tantalus when I have something in my own back yard, in a way. Very beautiful and scenic, although my first time hiking here was at night, so not recommended. I’m not an experienced hiker, but I had a head lamp, which made it much more bearable. Maybe I’m just an adventure seeker when I want to be. Thankfully, I didn’t end up on the local nightly news that night. It wasn’t raining when I went, so that’s a big plus, when you are trying to get some sort of footing on the trails. Be aware of your surroundings at all times, just so you don’t side step and tumble down the hill.
I definitely will be back here when it’s daylight, just because I went all the way to the end, but I could not see much of anything, due to being pitch dark up there. I’m sure the views during the day are well worth the effort, so definitely will need to come back. I basically wore my running gear and tried to run this thing in the dark — again, not recommended. Most reasonably sane hikers would need to dress comfortably, carry water and a cell phone, and probably have a gps, just to play it safe. Located on Maunalani Circle, Mau’umae Trail is pretty good too. I must admit that I was forced to hike this trail many years ago when I was in boy scouts. Needless to say, I have gotten wiser and a lot crazier since then.
See you on the trails!
A+

Well, I guess to start off I should probably say I am not the most experienced hiker so this trail was not the easiest for me. There were quite a few points with amazing views, especially in the beginning. I didn’t make it to the very end because my friend and I decided to hike later in the day so we were forced to race the sunset. But we made it to the point where you can see Ka’au Crater.
Long pants and possibly a long shirt is probably a very good idea if you decide to hike this trail unless you plan on coming back with a bunch of scratches on your legs. I thought long socks would be enough and returned with ripped socks and scratches on my legs. I also came back with a few bruises thanks to how clumsy I am. I personally would not recommend hiking it because I’m scared of heights, but if you’re up for a challenge this might be the hike for you. The entrance to this hike is to the left of the driveway with the surfboard address marker.

I’m surprised to find I’m the first Unilocaler here. This is a beautiful 6.24 mile hike that leads you over views of Ka’au Crater and the Honolulu skyline. The sign at the entrance posts mileage of 3.7 mile to the summit but using GPS I found it to be less. Here are three things that I learned about this hike:
1. Choose a dry day, some parts can be muddy.
2. Wear trail pants, ferns can scratch the hairs off your legs.
3. You may need a hat because 80% is uncovered.
The views at the summit make it all worth it. As with many hikes like this the view can be dependent on weather. We could see all the way to Chinaman’s hat and to Kokohead. GPS shows summit at 2386ft. you tower over Olomana. Google Maps shows address 4945 Maunalani Cir. however it is next door to 4969 driveway. See some of my pics. I’ll save the best views for you.