Maunawili Trail Pali Scenic Lookout Parking Advisory
Parking at the scenic lookout is now limited to 2 hours.
Details
Length (one way): 2.75 mi / 4.43 km - Elevation Change: 200 ft / 60.96 m
General Summary:
Manawili Ditch trail is an official equestrian trail.
For additional information refer to the "Route description" below.
Always yield to hikers and horseback riders. Do not slide around corners or slide down the trail. Careless mountain biking damages the trail and causes erosion. If accidents are reported or damage to the trail is extreme, the trail may be closed to mountain bikers.
Notice: Motorized dirt bikes sometimes illegally ride on this trail. Trail users should listen for such activity and move off the trail. Please report this illegal activity if you see it. (See Report Form below) Do not use any trail or access road that is not delineated by name and color and that may also be displayed on these maps. The marked features are managed for public recreational use. Other trails or roads that branch off from the public features may be on private property, and are not managed for any public recreational use. Access is subject to adjacent landowner approval, and if used without authorization, you will be trespassing and possibly putting yourself at risk. Downloadable resources are provided below
Along the way look and listen for the white-rumped shama. It is black on top with a chestnut-colored breast and a long black-and-white tail. The shama has a variety of beautiful songs and often mimics other birds. A native of Malaysia, the shama has become widespread in introduced forests such as this one. Sometimes lining the ditch trail are ki (ti) plants. They have shiny leaves, 1--2 feet long that are arranged spirally in a cluster at the tip of a slender stem. Early Polynesian voyagers introduced ti to Hawai`i. They used the leaves for house thatch, skirts, sandals, and raincoats. Food to be cooked in the imu (underground oven) was first wrapped in ti leaves. A popular sport with the commoners was ho`ohe`e ki or ti-leaf sledding. The sap from ti plants stained canoes and surfboards. In the few sunny sections, look for the sprawling native shrub `ulei in the sunny sections. It has small, oblong leaves arranged in pairs; clusters of white, roselike flowers; and white fruit. Early Hawaiians ate the berries and used the tough wood for making digging sticks, fish spears, and `ukeke (the musical bow).
Hikers must keep their dogs leashed at all times and remove dog waste while on this trail.
The Maunawili Ditch Trail roughly parallels a section of the old Kailua Ditch, built in the early 1920s to carry water from Kawainui Swamp to the canefields of Waimanalo Sugar Company. The irrigation system pumped water up from the swamp through a pipeline into a tunnel, where the water flowed gradually downhill to an open ditch and a reservoir in Waimanalo.
This trail is maintained for horse back riding. It is currently the only official equestrian trail on Oahu. The trail offers views of Waimanalo and the windward side of Oahu.
If driving from Waimanalo heading north on Kalanianaole Highway, turn left onto Kumuhau Street. Follow Kumuhau and turn right on Waikaupanaha Street. Shortly after you pass Mahiku Place, on your right, there will be a fence and a gate, also on your right. Park along the street and proceed through the break in the fence. Proceed mauka along the dirt road. Maunawili Ditch Trail will be on your right. Note: If you continue up the dirt road, it will end at the Waimanalo side of the Maunawili Trail. This trail ends on Mahiku Place whereby you can walk the road back or the trail.
From the signed trailhead along Waikupanaha St., go around a yellow gate and proceed up dirt Maunawili Waimanalo Road. Reach a signed junction with another dirt road marked by two metal posts. Turn right and down on the side road, which is the Maunawili Ditch Trail. (Straight ahead the main road continues to the Maunawili Trail.) The wide trail initially swings right across a small gully. For a long stretch contour in and out of numerous gulches. Ignore mountain bike routes crisscrossing the main trail. At an umarked junction keep right and down. Decend gradually to reach the end of the ditch trail at another yellow gate. Go around the gate and turn right on paved Mahiku Pl. To return to your car, walk back along the road and turn right on Waikupanaha St.
