Hiking the Poamoho Trail on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
Distance: 6.6 miles / 10.6 km
The Poamoho Trail in the northern Koʻolau Mountains on Oʻahu is, in my opinion, the best second-best day hike on the island! To be fair, the best trail is not open to the public—and no, I don’t mean Stairway to Heaven.
I say this because the Poamoho Trail is a relatively easy, well-maintained, and remote hike through one of the most beautiful and pristine native Hawaiian forests on the island—not to mention that the views from the summit cannot be beaten on a clear day!
By this, I mean that there are few places on the island where the summit views look out toward an entirely undeveloped landscape, the other most notable is the Keaʻau Middle Ridge Trail on the West Side of Oʻahu. However, what’s perhaps even more notable is that the Poamoho Trail is, for the most part, very flat—gaining just 560 ft. (171 m) over 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from the trailhead to the summit.
This slow elevation gain is hardly even noticeable over the length of the trail, making the Poamoho Trail much easier than it may seem for such a remote day hike.
All this to say, Poamoho is a personal favorite of mine because of the stunning views, the well-maintained trail, and the permit system in place, which helps to limit the number of hikers accessing such a pristine landcape!
How to Get a Permit for the Poamoho Trail?
The Poamoho Trail is accessible to the public by permit only, as gate codes are needed to drive the long access road up to the trailhead.
That said, the Poamoho Trail is only open to hikers on select days of the week—specifically Friday–Monday, including state and federal holidays.
This is designed to limit the number of visitors on the trail each day, but obtaining a Poamoho Trail permit is not difficult and has gotten easier over the years compared to the mail-in and in-person-only options of years past.
However, there is still the option to do a same-day pickup at the downtown Honolulu office or mail in a application to the address listed at the top—though, the easiest and most convenient option is the online application linked below.
Note that a permit holder can only receive one Poamoho Trail permit every 30 days.
Book Here: Poamoho Trail Permit
How Early is it Necessary to Submit a Poamoho Application?
With the new online application, I’ve had good luck receiving a permit back from the state when my application was submitted on Wednesday or earlier of the requested weekend to hike, granted that Friday wasn’t a state or federal holiday.
However, if you’re within this window of an upcoming weekend, the best thing to do is to walk into the downtown office during normal business hours (8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.), and you should have a valid permit in hand within a few minutes.
As for mail-in applications, your letter should be received 10 days or more before your desired hiking date, which should allow enough time for it to be mailed back to you.
Driving to the Trailhead [4x4 Only]
The Poamoho Trailhead is located at the very end of the 5.9-mile (9.5 km) 4WD Plantation–Poamoho Hele Loa Access Road, which begins at a locked gate on the right-hand side of Paʻalaʻa Uka Pūpūkea Road, just before the Helemano Military Reservation.
That said, this gate is exactly why the permit is necessary. Simply look for the lock and enter the code listed at the top of your permit to get through.
As for the drive itself, Plantation–Poamoho Hele Loa Access Road certainly is not the most challenging 4WD road on Oʻahu. Notably, the North Shore of Kaʻena Point is far more difficult.
However, I wouldn’t recommend anything less than a high-clearance, 4x4 vehicle, as there are typically quite a lot of potholes and a few big puddles if it has recently been raining.
Google Maps Directions: Poamoho Gate (Paʻalaʻa Uka Pūpūkea Road)
Plantation–Poamoho Hele Loa Access Road
In my experience, the drive should take about 25–30 minutes each way, but it can be faster if the road has recently been fixed up!
Poamoho Trailhead Parking
At the end of the 5.9-mile (9.5 km) access road, parking for the Poamoho Trail can be found in one of a few places just prior to the trailhead.
That said, please be courteous to other cars by allowing plenty of space to turn around in the largest areas.
Google Maps Directions: Poamoho Trailhead
Hiking the Poamoho Trail
The Poamoho Trailhead will be found where the road comes to an abrupt end.
With about 1.0 mile (1.6 km) left, the Poamoho Trail passes this sign, where the trail gets slightly more overgrown than the beginning few miles.
When the Poamoho Trail turns this corner to parallel the upper origins of the South Fork of the Helemano Stream, the summit is not far ahead!
Poamoho Summit
From the summit of Poamoho, you can see across much of Punaluʻu and Kahana Valley, including notable east-side peaks, such as Puʻu Piei, Puʻu Manamana, and Puʻu ʻŌhulehule from left to right in the photo below.
Native Plants on the Poamoho Trail
The Poamoho Trail is arguably one of the best trails on the island to find a variety of native Hawaiian plants. Some of these include ʻŌhiʻa lehua (all three Oʻahu species), ʻAhakea, Kōpiko, ʻĀlaʻa, Akaʻawa, Koliʻi, Alani, and Naupaka, to truly name only a few.
In addition, Poamoho is also one of the most valuable conservation areas on Oʻahu, and being the case, I ask that you do everything you can to minimize your impact.
If you’d like to learn more about these and many other native Hawaiian plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post using the link below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
