Best Hikes on Oahu: The Kuaokala Trail via Dillingham Airfield

Basic Information

• Name: The Kuaokala Trail via Dillingham Airfield
• Where: Mokuleia, Oahu
• Distance: 13 miles
• Max Elevation: 2,028 feet
• Elevation Gain: 2,805 feet
• Time: 5-7 hours
• Difficulty: Hard
• More Information: The Hikers Guide to O’ahu

Topographic Map

Google Earth Map

Elevation Map

Directions

From my house in Honolulu it took me about 25 minutes to Drive west on the H-1 Freeway and then drive north up the H-2 freeway to the city of Wahiawa.  From Wahiawa I drove passed the Schofield Barracks Army base and proceeded to drive north towards Waialua on Highway 803.  After reaching Waialua I then made a turn on to Highway 930 using a traffic circle.  Highway 930 is a very straight road that leads to Dillingham Airfield which is where the trailhead for the Kealia Trail is located.  Hikers need to enter the airfield from its western most gate and park in the parking lot near the tower.

Parking

Unlike other trailheads on Oahu this one has plenty of parking.  In the early morning hours when I arrived there was very few cars in the lot.  When I returned from my hike later that day the lot was mostly full, but still had parking spaces remaining:

Hawaiian Meaning

According to the book, “Place Names of Hawaii” the word “Kuaokala” translates in English to “back of the sun”.  My guess as to why native Hawaiians gave this place such a name may be in reference to how hot the lower elevations are around Kaena Point on Oahu’s North Shore.  The trail passes through the Mokuleia Forest Reserve and “Mokuleia” translates to “isle of abundance”.  Considering how beautiful and lush the forest here is, it is easy to understand why this area was given such a name.

Narrative

The Kuaokala Trail is a trail on the Hawaiian island of Oahu that is difficult to access due to the need to get a permit from the Division of Forestry and Wildlife.  The permit can be filled out at this link.  Once the permit is approved it can be used to access the US Air Force’s Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station where the trailhead for the Kuaokala Trail is located.  However, for those that don’t want to go through the hassle of the paperwork drill to access the trailhead, there is an alternative access point via the Kealia Trail on Oahu’s North Shore:

Best Hikes On Oahu: The Kealia Trail

The Kealia Trail is one of my favorite hikes on Oahu and requires no permit to access.  The trail is in great shape, features some of the best views of the North Shore, passes through an extremely beautiful forest, and ends with an outstanding view of the remote Makua Valley.  Adding the Kuaokala Trail on to this hike adds even more views of the North Shore as well as incredible views of Leeward Oahu.  The trailhead for this hike is located at Dillingham Airfield in the extreme northwestern section of the island.  The drive to the airfield is a scenic one due to it being backdropped by the stunning Mokuleia Cliffs:

The trailhead for this hike is located directly across the street from the airfield’s parking lot.  The cliff that the Kealia Trail initially climbs up is visible above the trailhead:

From the trailhead a road leads towards the cliff:

At the end of the road there is a fence that separates the airfield from the Mokuleia Forest Reserve:

From the fence line, the Kealia Trail begins to ascend up the cliff:

The switchbacking trail up the cliff’s face is in great shape:

Something to keep in mind is that most of this section of the trail is exposed to the sun which means it can get very hot.  It is imperative that plenty of water is brought on this hike.  For myself I brought a full Camelbak bladder of water that lasted me the entire hike:

Here is a view looking up towards the top of the cliff from the trail:

Here is a panorama view near the summit of the cliff of Dillingham Airfield down below:

At the top of the cliff there is picnic table that someone sprayed graffiti all over:

The picnic table is where most people tend to end their hike at, however the remainder of the Kealia Trail continues up a dirt road behind the picnic table:

One of the major sights seen while walking up the road is this old water tank decorated with a Native-American inspired painting:

From the water tank the road becomes quite steep in some sections:

The surrounding forest around the road is quite lush and beautiful:

Though the road was easy to follow there are various turns that need to be made to stay on the trail.  The turns are marked by arrows that are easy to spot:

At just under three miles up the trail, there is an intersection where the the Kealia Trail intersects with the Kuaokala Trail:

The Kuaokala Trail is accessed by making a right turn towards the west.  This intersection is also marked by this trail sign that shows the Air Force tracking station is 3.1 miles down the Kuaokala Trail:

This section of the Kuaokala Trail is still a dirt road that initially skirts this large rocky, cliff:

As I walked down the road I came upon this loader that I guess is used for road maintenance:

As I walked through the lush forest the smell of the gum trees was extremely strong. It smelled so good walking through the forest that I wished I could bottle it up and smell it any time I wanted:

The Mokuleai Forest Reserve allows camping by people with approved permits.  For those interesting in camping out in the reserve I did see a number of very large clearings along the side of the road to use:

Much like the Kealia Trail, the Kuaokala Trail also has a number of intersections where directional arrows mark which way to go:

Here is another example of the directional markers found along the trail:

The general rule of thumb is to keep to the left and follow the ridgeline:

About four miles into the hike the Kuaokala Trail comes to a large clearing:

From the clearing there are sweeping views of Oahu’s North Shore:

Here is a wider angle picture of the view:

The great views of the North Shore continued as I continued up the trail:

Looking towards the west I could see the road ahead of me that I would need to descend towards to reach the satellite tracking station:

Here is another panorama picture of the view from the trail:

Looking to the south I could see the ridgeline that forms the north end of the Makua Valley.  After reaching the satellite tracking station, the Kuaokala Trail ascends up this ridgeline back to the Kealia Trail:

As I continued down the road towards the satellite tracking station I next came to an area of red and orange dirt:

This area demonstrates how the ground below me were the remains of the old Waianae Volcano that was one of the two shield volcanoes that built the island of Oahu:

Looking at the rock it was easy to imagine the lava pouring out of the volcano and piling layer after layer of molten rock to build the island:

When the Waianae Volcano was erupting the terrain would have looked a lot like the upper regions of the large volcanoes on Hawaii’s Big Island.  However, the Waianae Volcano has long been extinct and time and erosion has turned this section of the island into a lush paradise:

At about six miles into the hike I had my first views of the satellite tracking station on the ridgeline across from me:

As I hiked towards the satellite tracking station the trail comes to another intersection where a left is made to stay on the Kuaokala Trail:

A right turn here leads into the Kuaokala Game Management Area where bowing hunting is allowed between the months of February and April:

As I continued up the trail I could see more of the satellite tracking station’s domes:

To reach the satellite tracking station the trail descends into a small valley.  In the valley there is a large sign that depicts the rules of the Kuaokala Game Management Area:

This section of the island is one of the most popular areas to hunt on Oahu.  The below map shows how the dirt road section of the Kuaokala Trail, depicted as a red line, passes right through the hunting area:

That is why I recommend that people wear brightly colored clothing when hiking trails in this area.  A sign that may seem out of place in Hawaii is the Smokey Bear sign:

Considering the lush image most people have of Hawaii, forest fires may seem like an unlikely occurrence.  However, on the Waianae side of Oahu it is much drier than on the island’s east side.  This means forest fires are a legitimate threat in this area and do happen.  On a related note I have actually visited the area where the legend of Smokey Bear originated from.  For those interested they can read about my prior visit to the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico at the below link:

Places in New Mexico: The Smokey Bear Historical Park

Next to the signboard there is an open gate that provides access to the Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station:

Next to the gate is a sign warning people they are entering a US Air Force installation:

After the gate the trail becomes a paved road that ascends up to the ridgeline that the satellite tracking station is located on:

The paved road after a short distance intersects with the main road that traverses through the satellite tracking station:

For anyone hiking the Kuaokala Trail make sure to not wander around the area because there are plenty of signs warning hikers to stay on the trail or face being detained by US Air Force security:

For those who have a permit to hike the Kuaokala Trail, they show the permit at the security gate located just after Makua Beach on the west side of the island.  From there hikers drive up the road and park at a small parking lot near the trailhead:

I hiked this trail on a weekend and saw no one else on the Kuaokala Trail the whole day.  The fact there was only one car in the parking lot demonstrates how little hiked this trail is.  For those looking for a beautiful hike that avoids crowds this is it.  Next to the parking lot there is a large sign with a map of the area:

Across from this sign I spotted the official trailhead for the Kuaokala Trail:

Here is a closer look at the trailhead sign:

From the trailhead the Kuaokala Trail is actually becomes a trail and not a dirt road:

As I hiked up the trail I had a view looking across a valley back towards the ridgeline I had crossed earlier in my hike:

The trail next came to a very narrow section with a steep drop off.  I made sure to take extra care with my footing here since a slip could prove fatal:

Here is the view from the cliff where I could see some nice grass fields in the distance in front of the satellite tracking station:

In about half a mile the trail once again began to follow a dirt road:

The dirt road ascends the ridgeline towards the Makua Valley:

Along the way I passed this picnic table that provides a nice place to take a break on this long hike:

As I continued up the road I began to have my first views of the west side of the island:

I could eventually see Keawaula Beach down below me:

Here is a closer look at this remote beach near Oahu’s northwestern most tip:

Here is a look back down the section of the Kuaokala Trail that I had ascended from the satellite tracking station:

After following the dirt road for just under one mile, the Kuaokala Trail becomes a real trail again:

As I hiked up the trail I made sure to follow the trail sign and make a right up the ridgeline:

As I ascended further up the ridgeline I had a nice view of a remote valley:

Within this remote valley I noticed this rock dike that might be a fun rock scramble for anyone willing to bushwhack through the brush to reach it:

The trail next came to a somewhat narrow and rocky area about 8.5 miles into my hike:

At this section of the trail there is a prominent shark fin like rock:

Below the shark fin rock there is a gate that allows hikers to enter a fenced off section of the Kuaokala Forest Reserve that keeps pigs from entering in order to protect native plants:

After passing the gate the trail continues to ascend up the ridgeline by following the fence:

As I continued up the trail I began to have my first views of the Makua Valley:

The below picture is the view behind me where the shark fin like rock can be seen on the far right.  The picture also shows how far I had ascended up the ridgeline from the satellite tracking station down below:

After the rocky section the trail became quite overgrown in some areas due the likely increase in moisture at the higher elevation and the fact the trail sees so few hikers:

There was even one area that I had to low crawl under a downed tree:

I next came to another viewpoint where I could see the North Shore village of Hale’iwa down below:

From the viewpoint I had one last steep section to climb before gaining the top of the ridgeline:

After powering up to the top I spotted the gate which designated where the Kuaokala Trail overlapped with the end point of the Kealia Trail:

Near the gate there is a clearing with a nice view of the Makua Valley down below:

The view of the Makua Valley is from the high point of the hike at about 2,000 feet in elevation:

“Makua” is the Hawaiian word for “parent”.  It is believed that the valley received this name because this is where the first Hawaiian was created.  Today the valley is a training range for the US military.  For decades bombs and ordinance was dropped into the valley.  All live fire training ended in 2004 due to legal challenges from environmentalists and Hawaiian cultural groups trying to protect the valley.  The military still trains in the valley, but only using blanks.  Ironically this live fire training in my opinion has ultimately helped to protect the valley because it is one of the few valleys remaining in Oahu with no development.  Here is a picture looking down into the valley at the training range:

As I looked down into the valley I could actually see what appeared to be the remains of one of the three Hawaiian heiau temples once built in the valley:

Something I always liked about the Makua Valley is how its southern valley wall is one of the few areas in the Waianae Range that looks like it belongs in the Ko’olau Range on Oahu’s east coast:

From the lookout, to the southeast I could also see the cloud covered summit of the highest mountain on Oahu, the 4,025 foot Mt. Ka’ala:

Mt. Ka’ala is one of my favorite hikes on Oahu, but also one of the most difficult.  You can read more about this hike at the below link:

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

After taking the views from the lookout, I proceeded to exit through the gate and head back towards the trailhead at Dillingham Airfield:

From the gate the Kuaokala Trail and the Kealia Trail overlap down a dirt road for about half a mile:

I soon found myself back at the intersection I was at earlier in the morning that I used to access the Kuaokala Trail:

From this point on I simply followed the Kealia Trail signs back down to the airfield:

Since it was mostly all down hill from the intersection I found myself back at the picnic table fairly quickly:

From the picnic table I began descending back down the cliff face:

As I descended, I once again had beautiful views of Dillingham Airfield and the North Shore:

I also spotted on the way down, graffiti cut into the rock from 1934 when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) first built this trail.  They actually had to use explosive in some sections to cut the trail through the rock.  The trail construction was quite an achievement which some of the CCC workers left an everlasting tribute to in the rock:

After spending the whole day on the trail by myself as I descended down the cliff I easily passed by about 30 people either going up or down the cliff face.  It was actually a bit of a traffic jam on some of the narrow sections of the trail trying to let people by.  This demonstrates what a popular trail this is later in the day with people hiking to the picnic table and back down.

Once at the bottom of the cliff I followed the old road back to the trailhead:

Here is one final look at the cliffs from the trailhead:

Conclusion

Just hiking the Kuaokala Trail itself is a challenging 6 miles, but combining it with the Kealia Trail made this a combined hike of 13 miles that I completed in 5 hours and 15 minutes.  Adding to the challenge is that this hike has 2,805 feet of elevation gain.  This hike is definitely not for everyone, but it is a way to complete two of Oahu’s best hikes in one day and avoid the permit process to access the satellite tracking station.  However, you decide to walk the Kuaokala Trail, do it, because it is definitely one of the best hikes on 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:

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