Best Hikes on Oahu: The Hanauma Bay Rim Trail

Basic Information

• Name: Hanauma Bay Rim Trail
• Where: Hawaii Kai, Oahu
• Distance: 3.6 miles
• Max Elevation: 627 feet
• Elevation Gain: 1,264 feet
• Time: 2-3 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate
• More Information: The Hikers Guide to O’ahu

Google Earth Map

Topographic Map

Directions

The trailhead for this hike is at the Koko Head District Park located in Hawaii Kai on the southeastern area of Oahu. From Oahu go east on the H1 until it becomes the Kalanianaole Highway.  Take this highway all the way to Hawaii Kai.  Once in Hawaii Kai make a left on to Lunalili Homestead Road.  Then take the second right onto Anapalau St. which leads straight to Koko Head District Park.

Parking

Koko Head District Park is where parking for the popular Koko Crater Stairs hike is located at.  This means that even early in the morning there is a lot of cars parked here.  Fortunately the parking lot is huge and always has plenty of parking.

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.  The meaning of the Hawaiian word “Hanauma” is much more easier to understand where its name came from since it means “curved bay”.

Narrative

If you are someone that has hiked the Koko Crater Stairs before and is looking for something different to hike in Hawaii Kai, the neighboring Hanauma Bay Rim Trail is well worth checking out as well.  Note that this hike is sometime called the Koko Head Rim Trail as well.  This hike ascends up Koko Head (not to be confused with Koko Crater) and then loops around a small crater adjacent to Hanauma Bay.  Views of Koko Crater, the Pacific Ocean, Honolulu, the Ko’olau Range, and Hanauma Bay are abundant on this hike.  This hike also makes for a great trail run which is what I did on this hike.  To start this hike, from the Koko Head District Park I jogged up the paved road from the parking lot up a small hill:

On top of the hill I had a nice view of the rifle range below Koko Crater:

Late in the day this rifle range can be quite noisy, but during the early morning it is extremely quiet.  Also on top of the hill is a T-intersection where a left goes to Koko Crater and taking a right leads to Koko Head.  I made the left and jogged up the paved road towards the Kalanianaole Highway:

The Kalanianaole Highway near Hanauma Bay is extremely busy during the day, but in the early morning it was easy to cross the road since there were very few cars:

On the other side of the road is the entrance to one of the top tourist locations in Hawaii, Hanauma Bay:

Near the entrance to Hanauma Bay a red gate can be seen:

Passing the gate is technically trespassing, but just like in other hikes on Oahu the signs are more there for liability reasons to protect the state.  The trail was filled with hikers when I was heading back down later that morning.  I even passed a Hanauma Bay park employee standing by the road preparing to direct traffic to the parking lot and waved at him and he did not say a word to me as I walked towards the gate.  But, like I said this trail is technically trespassing so use at your own risk.  Passed the gate there is a paved road that leads to the summit of Koko Head:

As I jogged up the hill I had some nice views of Hawaii Kai and the Ko’olau Range:

I also had beautiful views of Hanauma Bay:

I also had incredible views of the 1,208 foot Koko Crater:

Here is a nice panorama picture of Koko Crater (left) and Hanauma Bay (center):

Here is another nice panorama picture of Hawaii Kai located below Koko Head:

Out in the distance from Koko Head I could see Diamond Head Crater as well:

As I jogged higher up Koko Head the views of Hanauma Bay became better and better:

Here is a panorama picture of the view that also shows the lower crater to the right of Hanauma Bay that would be my next destination on this hike:

As I neared the summit of Koko Head I knew I had to start looking for the trail that leads down to the lower crater:

I spotted a faint trail through the grass and decided to follow it:

There was a lot of social trails in the grass leading in many directions, but I followed the trails towards the left that led towards the lower crater.  Eventually I could see the lower crater below me:

The descent down to the lower crater was very steep and I took extra care to not slip on the sometimes loose rocks:

Ahead of me I could see the trail that leads across the ridge that separates Hanauma Bay from the crater:

Once I was on the ridge the trail was quite obvious and easy to follow:

Here is the section where the trail crosses the ridge that separates Hanauma Bay from the crater:

From the ridge I took this picture of the little forest inside of the crater:

On the opposite side of the ridge I had a nice view of the always scenic Hanauma Bay:

Once across the ridge I had a steep scramble up this small hill:

Once on top of the hill I continued to follow the trail that traversed around the rim of the crater:

The views of Hanauma Bay to my north just continued to be spectacular:

Eventually the trail came to the edge of the ocean where it is one of the “go-to” location on Oahu for photographers to come and take sunrise photos at:

From here I descended down the steep rock face towards the ocean.  The rock face is cut into all kinds of unusual shapes by the persistent wind it is exposed to:

Within the rock there was a lot of little white quartz like rocks that were exposed by the erosion:

Some people took the rocks to make little messages for others to see:

I definitely prefer messages like this being left then the graffiti I have seen at other locations on the island:

I walked down the cliff face towards this pole that was constructed for some unknown reason:

Looking behind me I could see the black sand I walked across below the unusual rock formations:

To my north I could see Koko Crater from the shoreline:

Below me I could see the Pacific Ocean raging with large surf hitting the shoreline:

Near the flat rock pictured above I had read about a small rock bridge.  Considering the large waves hitting the rocks I was not about to walk down there to try and find it.  For those who do go looking for the land bridge please make a proper risk assessment before heading towards the shoreline.  After spending a few minutes checking out the pounding surf I then began to retrace my steps back up the rocky face.  While walking back up the rocky face I startled a couple of flightless birds that went and ran down the rock face away from me:

Once I was back up on the crater rim I then proceeded to continue to hike and jog around it:

Here is the view of the inside of the crater with the trail that leads to the summit of Koko Head visible on the far left:

Here is a view of the trail ascending up Koko Head from the south side of the lower crater:

As I was walking along the trail I noticed a rock arch on the seashore below me:

As I continued towards Koko Head the trail soon turned into a dirt road:

I next came to an intersection where a left went towards the seashore and a right led up Koko Head:

I could see a couple of pickups parked below so I decided to go down the trail and see what was there:

I was pretty impressed that these trucks were able to get all the way to this area on the rough trail:

At the bottom of the rough wide trail was where the trucks were parked:

Behind the trucks I found a short foot trail that led to the coastline:

At the end of the trail I was surprised to find a small fishermen’s camp:

Here is a wider angle view of the isolated cove with pounding waves below Koko Head that the fishermen were fishing at:

After watching the group fish for a little while I then proceeded to hike back up the foot trail and then back to the main trail.  Once back on the main trail I then began the steep ascent up Koko Head:

Once again I was pretty impressed those fishermen got their trucks down this steep and rocky trail:

Once I reached the top of the steep ascent I was rewarded with nice views of Hanauma Bay and Koko Crater:

At the end of the ascent the trail comes to an intersection with a paved road:

Near the intersection there is a large, fenced off building:

I took a short trail above the building from the paved road to the top of Koko Head to take a picture of the VOR antenna:

This antenna transmits a radio signal that is used to help aircraft navigate to Oahu.  After checking out the VOR antenna I then walked back over to the paved road and followed it over to some microwave and cell phone towers on top of Koko Head:

Here is closer look at the communications buildings and towers:

Something I noticed while walking over to the communications buildings was the amount of black rocks lying along the side of the road:

It was easy for me to imagine these being little lava bombs shooting out of the lower crater long ago when it was active much like what we are currently seeing occur on Hawaii’s Big Island.  The small volcanoes on Oahu such as Diamond Head Crater, Koko Crater, Koko Head, etc. are believed to have been active anywhere from 70,000 to 500,000 years ago:

Below is a panoramic views from the summit of Koko Head looking towards Hawaii Kai that I took before I started to jog back down the paved road.  The Ko’olau Range behind Hawaii Kai is the remnant one of the two large volcanoes that formed the island of Oahu sometime between 1.8 to 2.6 million years ago:

After I began jogging down the road I found myself stopping to keep taking photos of the beautiful scenery:

For example here is a photo looking toward Maunalua Bay which is one of my go-to locations for kayaking on the island:

As I looked towards Hawaii Kai I noticed the famed Hawaiian voyaging canoe, the Hokulea in port at Hawaii Kai:

I also stopped to take more pictures of the beautiful Hanauma Bay:

I had not noticed this before at Hanauma Bay, but it appears there may have been a bunker with a small radar dish installed there at one time:

As I got to the bottom of the paved road the views were then dominated by the always impressive Koko Crater:

I soon found myself back at the red gate where I passed under it and waved again at the Hanauma Bay park attendant:

I next crossed the highway again which was still was not busy since it was still early in the morning:

On the other side of the highway I jogged down the paved road back to Koko Head District Park:

The views were of course dominated by the stunning Koko Crater:

After getting to my truck I then proceeded to reward myself with a post-run breakfast at Jamba Juice where I ordered an Acai Bowl which was really good:

Conclusion

As I sat down and ate my breakfast at Jamba Juice, I was able to check my smartphone and determine that I had hiked 3.6 miles in just under 2 hours on the Hanauma Bay Rim Trail.  This time includes the sections that I did walked some sections of the trail, made side trips, and took a lot of pictures.  With that said I think most people hiking this trail should be able to complete it in under 3 hours.  As far as kids this trail is safe for young children if they only hike up the paved road to the summit of Koko Head.  For people looking to hike down to the lower crater with their young children I would recommend caution because it is pretty steep, so know your kid’s abilities.  Overall though I really enjoyed the Hanauma Bay Rim Trail and recommend it to most hikers because of its moderate distance, manageable elevation gain, and fantastic views of the Hawaii Kai area.

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:

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