This Quaint Little Trail Is The Shortest And Sweetest Hike In Hawaii
By Megan Shute|Published February 10, 2018
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
The eight main Hawaiian Islands occupy a space of approximately 6,400 square miles, making it the fourth smallest state in the country. Despite its size, Hawaii is a nature lover’s paradise and is home to countless incredible hikes for people of all skill levels and athletic endurance. Whether you’re just not up for completing a strenuous day hike, only have an hour before work, or you’re new to hiking as a sport, sometimes you need a short, easy hike. And today, we’re sharing with you the shortest and sweetest hike in all of Hawaii: Ualaka’a Trail.
This short, 1-mile, loop trail through a thick forest canopy begins near one of our favorite lookout points in all of Honolulu, Pu’u Ualaka’a State Wayside, or for those not familiar with the official name, Mount Tantalus. Here, you will find sweeping panoramic views of southern Oahu, from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor and everywhere in between.
There’s no doubt the Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the world’s best hiking destinations, and while you won’t find Ualaka’a Trail mentioned in any guidebooks, that’s why we like it. The lightly-trafficked and secluded trail feels world’s away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki, while still giving us phenomenal views.
If you’re enjoying yourself, you can even opt to continue on one of the many connecting trails: Makiki Valley, Moleka, and the Maunalaha Trails. That’s what makes this entire area a hiker’s paradise: connecting trails give hikers the ability to tailor each hike to their particular desires on any given day.
If you’d rather head back, though, you can, perhaps stopping at the always jaw-dropping Tantalus Lookout for a quick picnic lunch before stepping back into reality?
The Ualaka'a Trail is short, sweet, and convenient, but will still transport you to another world. Perhaps to a shaded forest ripped straight from the pages of your shaded fairytale? What more could you want in a hike?
Already hiked the Ualaka’a Trail? Why not hike one of these 15 Hawaii trails under two miles? We can’t promise they’ll all be sweet, but they are all short!
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