10 Best Kid-Friendly Hikes on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
Oʻahu is known for having both the most challenging and adventurous trails in Hawaiʻi, as well as a number of quick and easy day hikes that lead to some of the most amazing viewpoints and waterfalls!
That said, there really is a wide range in diversity when it comes to many of the hikes that I talk about throughout my blog, but in this article, I want to highlight some of the best easy, kid-friendly trails on Oʻahu for anyone interested in exploring the island with young kids.
These are trails where the risk of exposure is minimal, and there’s always the easy option to turn around at any time because the distances are relatively short.
This is all to say that if you’d like to read more about any of the trails mentioned below, I’ve written detailed articles about each hike separately, so that you can have the best expectations before choosing your adventure!
10 Best Kid-Friendly Hikes on Oʻahu
The following list is written in no particular order of best or worst.
Rather, there are amazing kid-friendly day hikes across the Oʻahu, which is exactly why this list contains options from all sides of the island!
1. ʻAiea Loop Trail
Distance: 4.9 miles / 7.9 km
The ʻAiea Loop Trail is a beautiful day hike in central Oʻahu that winds its way through a towering Eucalyptus–Koa–ʻŌhiʻa forest, past a number of panoramic viewpoints that look far up the Koʻolau Range, before ultimately looping back around to the beginning.
What all this doesn’t mention is that the elevation change on the trail is fairly minimal, which is why the ʻAiea Loop Trail is often regarded as the best trail-running hike and the best kid-friendly hike on Oʻahu!
To this point, the ʻAiea Loop Trail can most practically be thought of as having two 'halves,' meaning that whether you’re running or hiking with young kids, it’s easy enough to turn around at any number of points before beginning the second half of the loop.
Now, all of this goes without mentioning that one of the biggest reasons I believe the ʻAiea Loop Trail is the best all-around trail-running and kid-friendly hike on Oʻahu is that even after it has recently rained, the trail is typically doesn’t get very muddy—something that certainly cannot be said about countless other adventures on this list!
Read My Separate Post: ʻAiea Loop Trail
2. Likeke Falls Trail
Distance: 0.9 miles / 1.4 km
The Likeke Falls Trail is a short, easy, and often muddy east Oʻahu waterfall hike that I typically see as one of the best waterfall adventures on the island for a number of reasons!
The first is that Likeke Falls is spring-fed, not rain-fed, meaning that when other waterfalls on the island run dry over long periods without rain, such as Mānoa Falls, Likeke Falls will still be flowing!
The second is that it is such a short and quick adventure at only 0.45 miles (0.7 km) each way, which is why I often think the Likeke Falls Trail is the best kid-friendly waterfall hike on Oʻahu, as opposed to both Lulumahu Falls and Mānoa Falls, which are nearly double the distance.
I think this is important to keep in mind because, even though it is often very wet and muddy, you’ll never be hiking for too long, making Likeke Falls the perfect trail to get outside with young kids!
Read My Separate Post: Likeke Falls Trail
3. Hauʻula Loop Trail
Distance: 2.7 miles / 4.3 km
The Hauʻula Loop Trail is a beautiful North Shore day hike through a native and non-native ʻŌhiʻa–Cook Pine forest, where visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Kaipapaʻu Gulch, slow down and take pictures in the towering Cook Pine forest, and trail run—which is easily one of the better trails on Oʻahu to go for a run!
That said, the Hauʻula Loop Trail can most similarly be compared with the ʻAiea Loop Trail in central Oʻahu, with the exception that the Hauʻula Loop has more elevation change.
However, the main difference is that the Hauʻula Loop Trail’s location on the North Shore inherently makes it much less trafficked and much quieter overall, which is why it’s an adventure that I often think is one of Oʻahu’s best-kept secrets—especially if you’re staying at the Turtle Bay Resort just a few minutes up the road!
Read My Separate Post: Hauʻula Loop Trail
4. ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail (Sunset)
Distance: 1.4 miles / 2.3 km
The ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail is a short, steep day hike on the North Shore of Oʻahu that leads to not one, but two WWII-era bunkers at the end of the hike, similar to the Puʻu O Hulu Trail on the West Side of Oʻahu!
That said, the views from either pillbox at the top of the ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail are beautiful and renowned by both locals and visitors alike because, when the big waves roll into the beaches across Pūpūkea in the winter, the hike is one of the best places to sit back and take it all in—especially in the late evening, when golden hour lights up the best of the beaches across the North Shore!
Read My Separate Post: ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail
5. Mānoa Falls Trail
Distance: 1.7 miles / 2.7 km
The Mānoa Falls Trail is a family-friendly tropical rainforest hike that leads to a beautiful, towering 150 ft. (46 m) waterfall in the back of Mānoa Valley, just a short drive from the heart of Waikīkī!
That said, there’s a lot to know about Mānoa Falls before visiting, including information about parking, the weather, the time of year, how the time of year impacts how much—or even if—the waterfall will be flowing, as well as the optional ʻAihualama Trail, in which visitors can hike to reach a completely different panoramic viewpoint that most hiking to Mānoa Falls never venture far enough to see!
For all these reasons, I highly recommend reading my separate article, where many of the most common questions about Mānoa Falls can be answered at the very beginning.
Read My Separate Post: Mānoa Falls Trail
6. Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail
Distance (Roundtrip): 2.4 miles / 3.9 km
Elevation Gain: ~475 ft. / 145 m
The Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail is a short, paved day hike in east Oʻahu that leads to a beautiful overlook atop Makapuʻu Point, overlooking Makapuʻu Beach and the southeastern Koʻolau Mountains!
For this reason, the Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail is, without a doubt, the easiest and most straightforward hike on this list, which is why it is one of the most popular sunrise adventures on Oʻahu for both locals and visitors alike!
Saying all this, I think it’s important to stress once again that the entire trail, from the parking lot to the viewpoint at the top, is paved, which is why the Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail is the best and easiest family-friendly hike I’ve talked about thus far!
Read My Separate Post: Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail
7. Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Trail (Digging Hill)
Distance: 2.2 miles / 3.5 km
The Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Trail, also called the Digging Hill Pillbox Trail, is a beautiful, fairly easy, and often uncrowded sunrise hike on the east side of Oʻahu that climbs a short ridge to an old WWII-era bunker overlooking Kāneʻohe Bay, Mt. Olomana to the south, and Kualoa Ranch/ Mokoliʻi to the north!
That said, I recommend reading my separate article to learn about the trail’s unique parking area and trailhead access, as the start of the Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Trail is located in a somewhat unsuspecting location.
Read My Separate Post: Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Trail (Digging Hill)
8. Lanikai Pillbox Trail (Kaʻiwa Ridge)
Distance (Roundtrip): 0.9 miles / 1.4 km
The Lanikai Pillbox Trail is one of the more touristy hikes I’ve included on this list, but that is because the Kaʻiwa Ridge Trail to the Lanikai Pillboxes is one of the most beautiful day hikes and one of the best sunrise hikes on Oʻahu!
I say this because the vibrant turquoise-blue water just off Lanikai Beach is truly second to none, but all this goes without saying that the Lanikai Pillbox Trail is more challenging than it may initially seem.
This is because Kaʻiwa Ridge is one of the most popular day hikes on Oʻahu, which has inevitably made the already steep Lanikai Pillbox Trail very eroded and, as a result, very slippery!
Many hikers do not actually make it to the Upper Pillbox because of this, which is why I encourage you to read my thoughts on both the challenging trail and the challenging parking situation before setting off on the Lanikai Pillbox Trail—especially if you plan to hike it in the dark for sunrise!
Read My Separate Post: Lanikai Pillbox Trail
9. Puʻu O Hulu Trail (Pink Pillbox)
Distance: 1.6 miles / 2.6 km
The Puʻu O Hulu Trail, also called the Pink Pillbox Trail, is a short but steep west Oʻahu day hike that climbs to a handful of WWII-era pillboxes atop a panoramic summit above the Waiʻanae Coast, with Mt. Kaʻala, the highest peak on Oʻahu, off in the distance on a clear day!
That said, sunset is truly the only time of day I like to hike up Puʻu O Hulu, as the trail is not located in a great position for sunrise, midday can be very hot since there is little shade on the way up, but sunset is much cooler and more beautiful when the best of the colors across the dramatic Waiʻanae Range light up at golden hour!
This is all to say that if you decide to hike the Pink Pillbox for sunset, the short but steep hike back down as it’s getting dark is very manageable, given that you’ll likely make it back to the trailhead before it’s completely dark.
Read My Separate Post: Puʻu O Hulu (Pink Pillbox)
10. Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
Distance: 4.7 miles / 7.6 km
The Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail is a stunning adventure on the southeast side of Oʻahu, and it’s a hike that I believe is the best introductory Hawaiʻi ridge trail!
What I mean when I say this is that I know Hawaiʻi ridges and trails to be among the most difficult places to hike of anywhere in the world. However, there are a number of trails, including Wiliwilinui and others mentioned in this article, that make for fun, beautiful, and easy-to-navigate adventures.
This is all to say that I think the Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail is great if you’re traveling with kids that you trust to hike a little more independently, because even though Wiliwilinui is harder in comparison to other trails on this list, it is not a hard Hawaiʻi adventure overall.
Read My Separate Post: Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
My Print - Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
Native Hawaiian Plants on Hawaiʻi Trails
I wanted to include this last section on this post because this is a subject that’s personal to me.
The native plant biodiversity in Hawaiʻi is insane, and I say this because 90% of the native plants that you will see around the islands are found nowhere else on Earth, which I mention for two reasons.
The first is that I ask that you please do everything you can to minimize your impact on Hawaiʻi’s trails, as many native plants across the islands at risk of extinction. The second is that if you have a personal interest in the subject or may be curious about something that you found, I wrote a separate post entirely about native Hawaiian plants, which hopefully can help to identify anything that you might be curious about!
For example, this species in the photo below can only be found on the Island of Oʻahu and nowhere else on Earth!
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
