Details
Length (one way): 3 mi / 4.83 km - Elevation Change: 1,600 ft / 487.68 m
General Summary:
Wiliwilinui Access Road (and trail) is ridge trek that moves towards a summit in the Ko'olau mountains overlooking the Windward coast.
For additional information refer to the "Route description" section below.
Mountain bikes are allowed on the dirt access road but not on the trail itself. While on any trail or road always yield to hikers. Maintain safe speeds especially around corners. Careless mountain biking is potentially unsafe and causes erosion. If accidents are reported or damage to the road is extreme, the road may be closed to mountain bikers.
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
Open, ridgeline, some native forest, great views, steep, short
Hunting may be in progress on or near this hiking trail. Hunting dogs may be off-leash while engaged in the hunt. Hikers must keep their dogs leashed at all times and remove dog waste while on this trail.
Campers must find legal parking in the adjacent hiker parking lots. Please park responsibly and do not leave valuables in your vehicle.
Along the ridge top are the tall Cook pines planted by Territorial Forestry in 1927. Named after Captain James Cook, the pines are native to New Caledonia (Isle of Pines) in the South Pacific between Fiji and Australia. They are columnar in shape and have overlapping, scalelike leaves about 1/4 inch long, rather than true needles. Near the road end native koa and `ohi`a trees begin to replace the guava and other introduced species. Koa has sickle-shaped foliage and pale yellow flower clusters. Early Hawaiians made surfboards and outrigger canoe hulls out of the beautiful red brown wood. Today it is made into fine furniture. `Ohi`a has oval leaves and clusters of delicate red flowers. Early Hawaiians used the flowers in lei (garlands) and the wood in outrigger canoes. The hard, durable wood was also carved into god images for heiau (religious sites). Along the trail look for kopiko, a native member of the coffee family. It has leathery, oblong leaves with a light green midrib. Turn the leaf over to see a row of tiny holes (piko [navel]) on either side of the midrib. The kopiko produces clusters of little white flowers and fleshy, orange fruits. Before the final climb listen for the Japanese bush warbler (uguisu), a bird often heard, but rarely seen. Its distinctive cry starts with a long whistle and then winds down in a series of notes. The bush warbler is olive brown on top with a white breast and a long tail. More readily seen is the `amakihi, the most common native forest bird on O`ahu. It is yellowish green with a slightly curved grey bill and feeds on nectar, fruits, and insects.
In the early 1920s hikers and forestry rangers used a makeshift route, known as the Wai`alae Trail, which followed the Wiliwilinui ridgeline. In February 1927, Territorial Forestry workers planted the Cook pines along the ridge. In 1941 the Civilian Conservation Corps built a dirt road up the ridge to the forest reserve boundary near the future site of the water tank. The next year the U.S. Army constructed battery Lewis S. Kirkpatrick nearby, consisting of two turrets of twin 8-inch guns taken from the aircraft carriers Lexington and Saratoga. In the late 1940s Hawaiian Electric Company built the present dirt road to access its powerlines. In 1995 Na Ala Hele, the state trail program, and trail advocates collaborated in negotiations to obtain legal access to the trailhead through Wai`alae Iki subdivision.
Wiliwilinui Access road is a rugged dirt road through formosa koa and guava forest. As the road climbs up the ridge, it becomes native koa-uluhe forest. The Wiliwilinui trailhead is about 1.5 miles up the access road. The trail climbs straight up the ridge to a HECO tower. Continue past the tower to the Koolau summit. This trail offers opportunities for viewing a variety of native plants and, from the summit, the leeward coast and Waimanalo. PLEASE NOTE: The Wiliwilinui Community Association has been more than cooperative in letting hikers, bikers and hunters access State land through their property. Please stay on the designated access and abide by all rules and regulations of the association.
Descriptions for route, history, plants and birds were provided by Stuart Ball, author of The Hikers Guide to Oahu and other hiking books.
If driving from Kalanianiole Highway heading east, turn left on Laukahi Street. Continue mauka (toward the mountain) on Laukahi until you come to a security guard station. Check in with the security guard and then proceed up Laukahi until it ends. Turn left on Oko‘a, following the trail signs. Park in the parking area before the cable gate and proceed on foot along the access road to the trailhead.
Go around a locked yellow gate at the end of Oko`a St. Proceed up a one-lane paved road to a water tank. Continue straight on a dirt road, which climbs Wiliwilinui Ridge. A utility line comes in on the right and parallels the ridge all the way to the summit Pass a series of Cook pines along the ridgeline. Contour left around several knobs on the ridge. The road ends at a vehicle turnaround with a bench, a bike rack, and a boot cleaning station. Mountain Bikes are not allowed beyond this point. Brush any weed seeds off your boots. Pick up the Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail on the left. Climb steadily on plastic steps through native koa trees to a group of utility poles. Ascend to a second group of utility poles on a small knob. After a short level stretch begin the final climb to the summit through uluhe ferns. The initial steep section has a staircase made of recycled plastic planks. The trail becomes a series of plastic steps alternating with deeply rutted sections. The angle of ascent decreases past a green utility relay station. Reach the Ko`olau summit at a small knob with a superb view of the windward coast.
