Hiking the Kuaokalā Trail on Oʻahu
Distance: 2.6 miles / 4.2 km
The Kuaokalā Trail is a weird one in terms access, how much of the trail hikers are likely to do, and how much distance you should plan for. Being the case, the distance above is solely the Kuaokalā Trail from trailhead to trailhead. You will see in the photos below how there are two different trailheads to hike Kuaokalā.
It’s not likely that you would end up hiking the entirety of the trail from whatever trailhead you begin, and the distance above does not include the distance from the Keālia Trailhead, which adds another 3.3 miles (5.3 km) each way. However, even though it is much longer from Keālia, it’s also the much more practical way to hike Kuaokalā. I’ll talk more on this later.
Kuaokalā Trailhead Parking
If you start at the Keālia Trailhead, you can expect to park in the parking lot in the photo below on the left, or if you start at the official Kuaokalā Trailhead, you can expect to park in the trailhead at the Space Force Tracking Station in the photo on the right.
Google Maps Directions: Keālia Trailhead / Kuaokalā Trailhead
Hiking the Kuaokalā Trail
Kuaokalā can either be hiked from the Space Force Tracking Station, which requires a free day permit through the DLNR, or from Keālia, which doesn’t require any advanced planning. Hiking from Tracking Station is definitely the easier and shorter route to do this trail, but it usually requires more planning and driving to make this direction possible.
If you’re hiking from the Keālia side, don’t forget to pack a headlamp for the long trail.
Kuaokalā via Keālia
That’s why I wrote this post from the Keālia direction because it is by far the more practical route, even though it’s longer with much more elevation gain.
To see how to cut across the Waiʻanae mountains from the top of the Keālia Trail, check out the second section of my Keālia Trail post.
Kuaokalā via the Space Force Tracking Station
If you would like to see the Kuaokalā Trail from the other direction (Tracking Station), check out my post on the Waiʻanae Summit Trail (WST). I wrote about the summit trail from west to east of which, the Kuaokalā Trail is a part of the Waiʻanae summit.
Immediately from the trailhead above, the Kuaokalā Trail drops in elevation. At the part in the photo below, go to the right to stay on the easiest path.
The gate in the photo below is a pretty common place to turn around. You’re not missing out on better views by continuing further to the tracking station because the best views of Mākua Valley are all along the trail before the gate.
From the trailhead above, it’s only 0.9 miles (1.4 km) each way to get to this gate.
Soon after the gate in the photo above, the trail heads back into the forest with less expansive views.
If you are continuing further, the Kuaokalā Trail passes by the camping sections available to use by permit only. For camping, it’s absolutely most practical to drive up from Yokohama Bay over doing the hike from Keālia. You’ll save an immense amount of effort, and a 4WD vehicle is not needed to drive up, park at the trailhead, and do the short hike to your campsite.
At this area in the photo below, stay to the right. The next stretch of the Kuaokalā Trail is entirely on a dirt road.
After the road section, the Kuaokalā Trail turns back into a real trail for the remainder of the hike to the tracking station. Turn right at this split in the photo below.
The road to the left leads to a restricted area of the Tracking Station that is not meant for hikers.
Again, to see the photos of this trail in the opposite direction from this trailhead, check out my post on the Waiʻanae Summit Trail (WST).
Native Plants on the Kuaokalā Trail
The Kuaokalā Trail is by far the best trail on Oʻahu to see this ʻIliahi species. While you can find this same species in coastal areas like Kaʻena Point, it looks healthier by far up here in the mountains over the hot dry coastal areas down lower.
You can also find ʻŌhiʻa, ʻIlima, ʻUhaloa, and ʻĀkia on this hike as well.
If you would like to learn more about identifying these native Hawaiian plants and many more, check out my separate post.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
