Best Hikes on Oahu: The Pu’u O Hulu Trail (Pink Pillbox Trail)

Basic Information

• Name: Pu’u O Hulu Trail
• Where: Waianae, Oahu
• Distance: 1.7 miles
• Max Elevation: 840 feet
• Elevation Gain: 908 feet
• Time: 1-2 hours
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: The Hikers Guide to O’ahu

Topographic Map

Directions

Getting to the trailhead for the Puu O Hulu Trail is very easy to get to, but is a long drive by Oahu standards.  From Honolulu just take the H-1 freeway until it turns into the Highway 93, the Farrington Highway.  The Farrington Highway passes through the town of Nanakuli where the large rocky mass of Puu O Hulu is visible in front of you.  The highway will travel around the base of the mountain.  After passing the mountain take a right on to Kaukama Road.  The trailhead is visible on the right side of the road about 10 light poles up from the turn.

Parking

Parking for the Puu O Hulu Trail is on the side of Kaukama Road.  Parking along side the road is plentiful:

However, the day I hiked this trail I saw evidence of a prior car break in.  So make sure no valuables are left inside of your car:

Hawaiian Meaning

According to the book, “Place Names of Hawaii” the word “Hulu” is said to be the name of a chief who was in love with a woman named Ma’ili”ili.  She had a twin sister which made it difficult for Hulu to tell them apart.  A lizard god known as a Mo’o turned the twins and Hulu into mountains so that Hulu could look at the twins forever.

Narrative

When the weather is bad in the Ko’olau Range I tend to look for a hike to do on the drier Waianae side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  So that is what I did on a recent rainy day in Honolulu by making the long drive out to western Oahu and hiking the Puu O Hulu Trail.  As is often the case, the weather was nice in western Oahu.  The mountain I planned to hike up, Puu O Hulu is a large ridgeline that separates the two towns of Nanakuli and Ma’ili.

Just viewing the mountain from road I could tell there would be some awesome views from its summit:

After finding a place to park along Kaukama Road I easily spotted the trailhead for the hike:

From just a short walk up the trail I started to have some good views of the Waianae Range:

As I followed the trail up the mountain I found it to be in great shape:

As I continued up the trail I could soon see both the mountains and the ocean:

I was making quick progress up the trail and could see the summit ahead of me:

Along the trail I passed a tree with some impressive roots:

Shortly after the tree I arrived at a fork in the trail.  This is where making a right leads to the bunkers:

From the fork, the trail traverses just below the summit:

Along this section of the trail the views of the Ma’ili neighborhood down below were pretty impressive:

Waianae has a bad reputation, but looking at the Ma’ili neighborhood the homes were quite nice and the neighborhood quite tidy:

The trail then comes to a prominent point with sweeping views:

From the prominent point the trail switchbacks up to the summit of the hill:

Along the way I passed this small bunker:

The bunkers on Pu’u O Hulu were first constructed back in 1923 to house fire control stations that would feed targeting information back to coastal artillery batteries stationed around the island.  As I walked up to the summit of the mountain I passed by this old cable trolley that would have been used to bring supplies up the mountain to the troops stationed in the bunkers:

Near the summit of the mountain I next came to this large bunker:

The door was open so I went inside to check it out:

The interior of the bunker was nearly all covered in graffiti.  Something else I noticed was the two concrete mounts on the ground.  The mounts are where the precision telescopes were installed that allowed soldiers to spot enemy ships up to 70 miles out at sea:

Pulling duty in this bunker looking for Japanese invasion ships that never came was probably long and boring, but at least they had some of the best views on the island to enjoy:

However, the soldiers stationed here on December 7, 1941 would have saw the Japanese bombers flying along Oahu’s west coast as they rounded the Waianae Range to attack Pearl Harbor.  However, by the time the planes were spotted there wasn’t enough time to warn anyone before the bombing started:

On the summit of Puu O Hulu is the famous “Pink Pillbox”:

The pillbox was painted pink back in 2015 as part of a cancer awareness campaign that is controversial with local residents:

It was supposed to be about sharing a positive message with the community.

But some residents are irked about a hiking group’s decision to paint a World War II-era bunker in Maili pink to raise awareness about cancer.

Howard Militante said he organized a hike in Maili to shine a spotlight on breast cancer in a new way.

He said he doesn’t know who painted the pillbox, but he feels responsible because he organized the event. “If I have overstepped the boundaries or if I offended anyone, I personally, sincerely apologize.” he said.

Still, he said if the pink bunker gets people thinking about cancer checkups, it’s worth the backlash.

“I’m just trying to get people’s attention that cancer is real. Cancer is serious and it affects each and every one of us,” he said.

He said about 125 people came out for the hike; at some point, the bunker was painted a bright pink.

Militante points out the bunker was covered in graffiti. But the new shade has some people seeing red.

One critic posted this on Facebook: “Some idiots have painted the bunker pink on Maili point.”

Resident Kimberly Acker also didn’t like the new color.  “Anything that is painted over our beautiful rocks or volcanic rocks or the mountain it should not be put there or painted. Keep it natural,” she said.

But the colorful statement also has its supporters.

“Everything else up there is so dreary usually. Some color up there looks nice,” resident Marina Longfellow said.

Militante said cancer is personal to him — several of his relatives have died from the disease.

The avid hiker said a few weeks ago, he put a prayer box at the Maili bunker for people to leave prayer requests.

“A lot of the prayers that I had received two weeks ago were praying for family members who are afflicted by cancer,” he said.

Whoever painted the bunker pink could face repercussions from the state, which owns the land and the WW II-era relic that’s now impossible to ignore.  [Hawaii News Now]

The inside of the Pink Pillbox is covered with the names of people who have survived cancer:

Here is the view from the Pink Pillbox looking down the trail towards the first smaller pillbox:

Here is the view looking north up Oahu’s western coastline:

In the distance I could see the highest peak on the island the 4,025 foot Mt. Ka’ala:

The Mt. Ka’ala Trail is one of my favorite hikes on the island:

Best Hikes on Oahu: The Mt. Ka’ala Trail (Waianae-Kaala)

Towards the back of the Lualualei Valley that the village of Ma’ili is located in, I could see the two antennas of the Naval Radio Transmitter Facility (NRTF) Lualualei.  The NRTF Lualualei uses two 1,503 foot antennas to communicate with submerged nuclear submarines using a low frequency transmission.  Lualualei is one of five NRTF stations around the world the Navy uses to pass communications to submerged submarines:

Here is the view looking straight down the mountain towards the Farrington Highway:

After taking in the views I then proceeded to follow the ridgeline further across the mountain to another bunker complex.  This ridge is narrow and rocky which causes most people to turn around at the Pink Pillbox:

For an experienced hiker like myself the ridge was very easy to traverse to the bunker.  When I arrived at the bunker, I noticed that its opening was very similar to the one I saw on the North Shore at the end of the Ehukai Trail:

Here is the view from this bunker looking back towards the Pink Pillbox:

This bunker is the last one along the trail.  From this bunker I decided to traverse the entire ridgeline:

The trail was rocky and narrow in some parts, but once again an experienced hiker will have no problems traversing this ridgeline:

At the end of the ridgeline the trail flattens out:

From the end of the ridgeline I had a good view looking towards the Waianae Range where I could see the mountains of Pu’u Heleakala and the Hawaiian Pyramid in the distance:

Here is a wider angle image of this view:

Here is a close up look at the city of Waianae and the west coast of Oahu:

From the end of the ridgeline I decided to turn around and retrace my steps back to the trailhead.  Not before getting one last panorama picture of the beautiful view:

Conclusion

As I made my way back down the ridgeline I noticed there was a lot more people heading up the mountain.  For being a hike in the supposed rough side of the island, this hike has become very popular.  It might be because of its proximity to the resorts at nearby Ko’olina, but the word about the great views from the Puu O Hulu Trail has definitely gotten out.

Once back at the trailhead by GPS logged me as hiking 1.7 miles with 908 feet of elevation gain.  For those just going to the Pink Pillbox the hike would be less than 1.5 miles and about 800 feet of elevation gain.  The trail is also wide enough that I saw many children as young as ages 4-7 with their parents hiking up the trail.  So whether you go solo or bring the whole family, this trail provides a nice workout over a short distance where you are rewarded with interesting bunkers to explore and incredible views of western Oahu.

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 hiking information can be found in the below book: