Kuli`ou`ou Ridge Trail
Kuli`ou`ou Ridge Trail is a moderate 5-mile round trip hike with awesome views and takes approximately 4-hours. The ascent can be pretty challenging especially if it’s muddy. The trail traverses through an assortment of exotic vegetation typical of arid areas: Christmas berry, haole koa, formosa koa, ironwood, Norfolk pine and guava. Beyond the shelter and the guava forest, the trail breaks out of the canopy and into uluhe-o`hia-koa-lama forest. The last 1/3 of the hike, you will be greeted by about 200 stairs.
The peak of Kuliouou Ridge, on a clear day, is a very rewarding one. You get beautiful views of the Windward side and can see all the way to Kahana Valley. To the right you will also be able to see all of Hawaii Kai and even Koko Crater. It’s a beautiful lookout point. It is possible that the clouds can cover the summit since it is 2,119 feet up thus rendering no views. The clouds tend to move quickly though and clear up most of the time so you can see the spectacular views.
