Hiking the Tantalus Loop Trail to the Pauoa Flats Bench on Oʻahu
Distance: 8.4 miles / 13.5 km
The Tantalus Loop Trail is the best way to see most of the trails on Tantalus in a single hike.
The trails on Tantalus may look confusing, but in reality, they are more or less one big loop of trails with different names that at some point always branch off of the loop back to the road.
The three main exceptions to this are the Nuʻuanu Trail that descends Tantalus into the Nuʻuanu Valley, the ʻAihualama Trail that is a connector trail between Tantalus and Mānoa Falls, and the Tantalus Arboretum Trail, which is its own small 0.3 mile loop trail that isn’t connected to the rest in any way.
Makiki Valley Trailhead Parking
This hike could begin at any number of side trails off of Tantalus-Round Top Dr. that meet up with the central loop, but for the purposes of this post, I began in Makiki Valley at the very bottom of Tantalus.
In the Makiki Valley State Recreation Area there is a parking lot for the Tantalus Loop Trail, located at the Makiki Arboretum Trailhead. This is the biggest parking area anywhere on Tantalus, and I like parking here for the loop trail to get the uphill out of the way right away.
Out of caution, consider the Makiki Valley parking lot and any parking area on Tantalus a high-crime area for petty theft. Never leave bags or anything valuable in your car.
Google Maps Directions: Makiki Arboretum Trailhead
Hiking the Tantalus Loop Trail
To skip ahead to any one particular trail in this post, click on the links below.
Makiki Arboretum Trail
Distance: 0.4 miles / 0.6 km
The Tantalus Loop begins on the Makiki Arboretum Trail from the parking lot in Makiki Valley.
The short 0.4 mile arboretum trail leads to the State Recreation Area where the loop hike begins, and note that you should double this 0.4 miles for when you return.
Maunalaha-Kānealole Intersection
The Tantalus Loop Trail could be hiked in either direction when you get to the intersection in the photos above.
I always prefer to start on the Maunalaha Trail, so that I can get most of the elevation gain out of the way right away.
The Kānealole to Nahuina route feels like the elevation gain is being drug out over a longer distance.
Maunalaha Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
I started on the Maunalaha Trail because like I said previously, the Maunalaha and Moleka Trails are where most of the elevation gain are on the loop hike.
After the Moleka Trail, there is only about 300 ft. more of elevation to gain over the next 2.4 miles, which is hardly noticeable.
Almost immediately, the Maunalaha Trail will start gaining about 700 ft. of elevation for near the entire distance to the Makiki Valley-ʻUalakaʻa intersection.
Makiki Valley-ʻUalakaʻa Intersection
After 0.8 miles, you reach the Makiki Valley-ʻUalakaʻa intersection.
From here, you need to take the Makiki Valley Trail for 0.1 miles, until you reach the Moleka Trail on the left hand side.
This intersection can look confusing, but the correct direction is in the third photo below, not the Makiki Valley Trail adjacent to the trails map sign.
The Makiki Valley Trail adjacent to the trail map is the way to go for the shorter loop. This is the route that most hikers take that aren’t trying to hike the full Tantalus Loop.
If you’re curious, the ʻUalakaʻa Trail is a trail that leads down to the Tantalus Lookout at Puʻu ʻUalakaʻa State Park. It meets up with the road multiple times.
Moleka Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
After 0.1 miles, the Moleka Trail will be on the left.
The Makiki Valley Trail simply continues on to the road where there is a very small roadside parking area. It’s also another way to reach the ʻUalakaʻa Trail.
Over 0.8 miles, the Moleka Trail climbs about 100 ft. in elevation, which isn’t even noticeable over its entire distance.
The interesting thing about the Moleka Trail is how you feel that you are hiking in a completely forested landscape; meanwhile, the trail is actually winding right by a number of houses and peoples’ backyards. However, you’d never know.
Mānoa Cliff Trail
Distance: 1.6 miles / 2.6 km
The Mānoa Cliff Trail is easily my favorite trail on the Tantalus Loop.
In my opinion, the Mānoa Cliff Trail has the best views on the entire hike, and you get the opportunity to slow down through a highly native forest, which is something that can’t be said about the rest of the loop hike.
Here and there you may find native plants on the rest of the loop, but they are not nearly in the same density as you will find on the Mānoa Cliff Trail.
The photo below is the Moleka-Mānoa Cliff trailhead parking area.
Note that the official distance for Mānoa Cliff is 1.9 miles, but the Tantalus Loop Trail cuts out the last 0.3 miles to stay on the loop at the Pauoa Flats Trailhead.
Just after this bench in the photo above, you can find a handful of endemic Lama trees on the right-hand side of the trail.
Be careful looking, as some are more over the cliff than others.
Mānoa Cliff-Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa Intersection
Don’t take the Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa Trail. Continue on the Mānoa Cliff Trail to stay on the Tantalus Loop Trail.
If you’re hiking the Loop Trail, it wouldn’t make any sense to take the Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa Trail because the Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa Trail leads to a separate trailhead at the very top of Tantalus-Round Top Dr. that’s not near anywhere else on this loop hike.
If you did take it, it would require a bit of road walking to make it back to the loop hike at the Kalāwahine Trailhead.
Mānoa Cliff Restoration Area
The Mānoa Cliff Restoration Area is the most native forested section on the entire trail.
That being said, some of native Hawaiian plants that you can expect to see include ʻIeʻIe, ʻŌhiʻa, Koa, Kokiʻo Keʻokeʻo (Hawaiian Hibiscus), Kōpiko, Maile, Māmaki, and Hōʻawa to name only a few.
If you are curious about trying the native Hawaiian Māmaki tea, I kindly ask that you don’t harvest Māmaki from our native forests but, instead, buy from one of the local reputable vendors, such as those listed below.
You can use my native Hawaiian plant article to learn how to identify these any many more native species.
Mānoa Cliff-Pauoa Flats Intersection
At this point in the trail, I believe the Mānoa Cliff Trail is incorrectly labeled. It should say, “shortcut to the Kalāwahine Trail.”
If you don’t want to continue to the Pauoa Flats bench, then turn left here to continue on the Mānoa Cliff Trail. This short section is more or less a quick connector trail to Kalāwahine.
Pauoa Flats Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
One-way the Pauoa Flats Trail to the bench is 0.8 miles, but roundtrip on the Pauoa Flats Trail returning to the Kalāwahine Trail it’s 1.4 miles because this is an out-and-back section of the hike.
Know that unless you were planning on hiking to Nuʻuanu Valley, Mānoa Valley via ʻAihualama, or Puʻu Kōnāhuanui, the bench is the furthest and most practical end destination on the trail.
Kalāwahine Intersection
The Kalāwahine Trail is the return side of the Tantalus Loop.
If you have no interest in hiking the extra 0.4 miles one-way out to the Pauoa Flats Bench, then turn left here to start the return loop.
If this is what you decide, click here to skip to the Kalāwahine Trail section of this post.
Nuʻuanu & ʻAihualama Trail
Shortly after the Kalāwahine Trail junction, you will come to the Nuʻuanu Trail on the left followed by the ʻAihualama Trail on the right.
The Nuʻuanu Trail descends Tantalus to the west down into Nuʻuanu Valley, and the ʻAihualama Trail descends Tantalus to the east down into Mānoa Valley, ending right at Mānoa Falls.
For most hikers doing the Tantalus Loop Trail, it doesn’t make sense to take either of these side trails. You won’t end up anywhere near where this hike started in Makiki Valley.
Kalāwahine Trail
Distance: 1.3 miles / 2.1 km
The Kalāwahine Trail is a mostly flat trail that contours Tantalus while descending about 150 ft. of elevation. This part of the trail moves very fast as you wind back and forth on the Nuʻuanu side of Tantalus.
Mānoa Cliff-Kalāwahine Intersection
The Mānoa Cliff junction on Kalāwahine is where you would come out had you taken the shortcut from eariler and skipped the Pauoa Flats bench.
In the short section between the native snail habitat signs, there are a few randomly placed Māmaki trees/plants growing on the side of the trail.
Kalāwahine Trail Parking
The photos below are where the Kalāwahine Trail meets up with Tantalus Dr.
Here, there is a very small and limited parking area, but just down the road, there is a slightly larger area off to the side, just past the Nahuina Trailhead in the photos below.
Nahuina Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
From the Kalāwahine trailhead, walk Tantalus Dr. away from the parking area, until you see the Nahuina Trail on the left hand side.
The trail itself is 0.8 miles, but with the road walk it’s closer to a mile.
At this point in the hike, the rest of the Tantalus Loop is entirely downhill, until the trailhead in Makiki Valley.
The Nahuina Trail descends elevation quickly, which is pretty much the only thing to note about this section of the Loop Trail.
Nahuina-Makiki Valley Intersection
When you get to the Makiki Valley Trail at the bottom of Nahuina, turn left on the Makiki Valley Trail for a quarter mile, until you reach the Kānealole Trail.
Turning right at this intersection leads up to Tantalus Dr., and a small parking area shortly after.
Kānealole Trail
Distance: 0.8 miles / 1.3 km
The start of the Kānealole Trail is the opposite side of the Makiki Valley Trail where earlier Maunalaha met up with the Makiki Valley Trail on the other side. This is the shorter loop that most hikers do that I mentioned earlier.
Like the Nahuina Trail, the Kānealole Trail continues to descend back to the trailhead in Makiki Valley.
Other than the Mānoa Cliff Trail, there is a few native Hawaiian plants in a very small stretch at the end of the Kānealole Trail, just before the Makiki Arboretum Trail intersection.
Here, you can find an endemic Lonomea, Wiliwili, and Lama tree, as well as a variety of canoe plants.
Native Plants on the Tantalus Loop Trail
Under the Mānoa Cliff Restoration Area section, I mentioned that the majority of the information that you would need to know to find various native plants on Tantalus.
The Mānoa Cliff Restoration Area is easily the most native trail on the loop hike, and unfortunately, most of the rest of the loop hike is dominated with non-native/invasive introductions.
If you’d like to know more about identifying the various species that I mentioned earlier, check out my native Hawaiian plant post that I created specifically to help others identify native species that they come across in Hawaiʻi.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
