Best Hikes on Oahu: The Koko Crater Botanical Garden Trail

Basic Information

• Name: Koko Crater Botanical Garden Trail
• Where: Hawaii Kai, Oahu
• Distance: 2.3 miles
• Maximum Elevation: 449 feet
• Elevation Gain: 270 feet
• Time: 1 hour
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: The Hikers Guide to O’ahu

Overview

Koko Crater is well known for its steep stairway hike to the top of the crater that provides one of the best views on Oahu.  What is not as well known is that inside the crater is a botanical garden with its own hiking trail as well.  The trail is a 2.3 mile long, family friendly hike that circles around the inside of the crater that I recommend that families with young kids check out.

Directions

Getting to the Koko Crater Botanical Garden is fairly easy.  First drive east on the Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai.  Continue down the highway through Hawaii Kai and around Koko Crater.  The drive around Koko Crater is absolutely stunning.  Just after passing Sandy Beach make a left at the intersection with Kealahou Street. The street passes through a nice Hawaii Kai residential neighborhood.  While driving through the neighborhood look for the Koko Head Botanical Garden sign on the left side of the road at the intersection with Kokonani Street.  Drive down Kokonani Street until it ends at the entrance to the Koko Head Botanical Garden.

Parking

At the Koko Head Botanical Garden there is parking in a dirt lot for about 20 cars.  The day my family and I visited was on a Saturday morning before lunch and there was plenty of parking available.

Hawaiian Meaning

According to the book, “Place Names of Hawaii” the word “Koko” translates to “blood” which may be in reference to old story about someone who was bitten by a shark at an old Hawaiian canoe landing below the crater.

Narrative

I like many other people have hiked up the Koko Crater Stairs before to admire the view of the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean from its crater walls:

What many people don’t realize when gazing at this view is that below them inside the crater is a botanical garden with its very own hiking trail that is well worth checking out as well:

Being a father to two young kids aged 5 and 8 years old means that they are not ready to hike up the Koko Crater Stairs yet.  However, what they can do is hike around the interior of the crater.  So on a recent weekend I drove over to Hawaii Kai with my two kids to hike the 2.3 mile long Koko Crater Botanical Garden Trail.  After parking our car we walked over to the botanical garden that had all the ubiquitous warning signs posted in order to avoid any liability if any accident was to happen.  I don’t think there is a state that has more warning signs posted of things that can kill you then Hawaii:

The Koko Crater Botanical Garden that is open from dawn to dusk and pets are not allowed on the trail:

At the entrance there is a sign that explains the history of the Koko Crater Botanical Garden.  The garden was established on 60 acres of land inside of Koko Crater in 1958.  The garden is home to a number of rare dry land plants:

The trailhead for the hike around the garden is marked by a blue sign that says “Loop Trail” near the entrance:

The first section of the trail walks past a grove of plumeria trees.  The time of year we visited the plumeria blossoms had already dropped off of the trees:

However, a few of them still remained on the trees:

This section of the hike would be stunning to view when all the trees have their plumeria blossoms on them instead of just the few that we saw:

My kids loved smelling the blossoms that have a very strong and pleasant fragrance used in perfumes and for the building of flower leis:

As we continued to walk down the trail we saw a few other colorful flowers as well:

The trail next passed through a section of trees native to Hawaii and the Pacific:

A common tree seen in the rainforests of Hawaii is the pandanus tree that has stilt like roots that allow the tree over time to move:

As we neared the desert area of the botanical garden we came upon this large grove of agave plants:

We then came to a grove of what appeared to be a type of yucca plant:

We next passed a tree that was covered in cactus growing all over it:

As we continued up the trail the vegetation opened up a bit which gave us a good view of the crater’s walls:

Koko Crater was formed about 50,000 years ago when a volcanic explosion ripped open the ground pouring magma into the water which causes it to cool rapidly to form fine grains of ash.  The ash settles into a cone and then weathering over time creates a crater.  These types of volcanoes are called tuff cone volcanoes.  Koko Crater is one of a handful of tuff cone volcanoes on Oahu.  The most famous tuff cone volcano is the iconic Diamond Head Crater.  The formation of these tuff cone volcanoes are considered the last volcanic activity to happen on the island.  Here is a view of the inside Koko Crater as seen from Makapu’u Point:

As we looked up at the crater’s walls we could see a pair of hikers walking along the ridge of the crater:

We next came to the part of the garden where a number of cactus species from North America have grown to enormous sizes:

These ball like cactus were huge and pretty neat to see:

From the cactus section we continued to follow the trail up a small hill at the back of the crater which was roughly the halfway point of the hike:

On the other side of the hill we descended into the area of the garden that is home to various species of plants from Madagascar:

These trees looked like a species of the boab tree that were pretty neat to see in Hawaii of all places:

Probably the most unusual tree we saw in the garden was this “sausage tree”:

The fruits that hang from the tree are eaten by giraffes in Africa.  I attempted to open one of the sausages lying on the ground and found them very hard and difficult to open:

On the walk back to the trailhead we passed through another section of tropical plants that was backdropped by the summit of the crater that the Koko Crater Stairs leads to:

We could see the people standing at the top of the summit enjoying the view:

This section of the garden was quite lush and beautiful:

As we neared the trailhead the vegetation became dry scrubland once again:

We soon returned to the plumeria tree grove back at the trailhead:

My kids and I enjoyed smelling a few of the remaining plumeria blossoms before returning to our car:

Conclusion

The hike around the Koko Crater Botanical Garden is a nice walk for families looking for an easy hike to do with their kids.  My kids had fun seeing the different trees and cactus as well as smelling the various flowers.  However, for those with limited time visiting Oahu there are much better botanical gardens to visit.  My favorite is the Ho’omahulia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe.

Disclaimer:  On-Walkabout is a website about outdoor activities that is not affiliated with any state or national government.  The articles on this website are for informational purposes only and to inspire others to get outside.  The activity descriptions are given to showcase the beauty and fun of experiencing the outdoors.  The writer of On-Walkabout is not responsible for any accidents, injuries, rescues, legal issues, or loss of life by anyone attempting the activities listed on this website.  Outdoor activities can be dangerous which is why it is the responsibility of the reader to use common sense and understand their own abilities before attempting an outdoor activity inspired by this website.  Most importantly parents need to understand the ability of their children before attempting an outdoor activity.  Just because my young children completed a hike mentioned on this site does not mean your children can as well.  Be safe and I hope this website inspires others to go and enjoy the outdoors as much as I do.  

YOU CAN FIND MORE GREAT HIKES AT THE OAHU REGIONAL TRAIL FINDER:

The Oahu Trail Finder

Note: Further information about hiking on Oahu can be found in the below book: