10 Best Kid-Friendly Hikes on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
Many of the hikes I talk about throughout my blog are great trails for adventurous adults, but I realize the need to highlight the best easy, kid-friendly trails on Oʻahu for anyone wanting to explore with young kids.
These are trails where the risk of exposure is minimal, and there’s always the easy option to turn around at any time because the distances are relatively short.
All said, if you’d like to read more about any of the trails below, I’ve written detailed articles about each of them separately, so that you can have the best expectations before choosing your adventure.
10 Best Kid-Friendly Hikes on Oʻahu
The following list is written in no particular order of best or worst, but rather, there are great kid-friendly hiking trails across the island, which is exactly why all of these trails are so spread out.
1. ʻAiea Loop Trail
Distance: 4.9 miles / 7.9 km
While the ʻAiea Loop Trail may be the longest hike on this list, I’ve chosen to mention it first for a number of reasons.
The first is that there are essentially two halves, meaning two trailheads for the hike, so if there’s ever a need to turn around, you can always cut the hike short without having to finish the whole loop trail. The second is that ʻAiea Loop is centrally located on Oʻahu, making it easy to get to from a number of different directions. Finally, one of the most important reasons is that even after heavy rains, the ʻAiea Loop Trail typically dries out much quicker than other Oʻahu trails, including other trails on this list.
In all, if you have kids that are up for hiking a few miles, then the ʻAiea Loop Trail makes for one of the best all-around kid-friendly hikes on Oʻahu.
Read My Separate Post: ʻAiea Loop Trail
2. Likeke Falls Trail
Distance: 0.9 miles / 1.4 km
If you’ve searched for good waterfall hikes on Oʻahu, chances are that Google will point you to Mānoa and Lulumahu Falls. However, while Mānoa Falls can be a good choice, both are not the best kid-friendly waterfall hikes compared to Likeke Falls.
The most obvious reason is that the distances for both Mānoa and Lulumahu Falls are double that of Likeke Falls. However, the most important reason why I recommend Likeke over Mānoa is that if it hasn’t rained recently, you may be hiking to a dry cliffside at Mānoa. By this, I mean that Mānoa Falls is rain-fed, meaning the falls is not always guaranteed to be flowing.
The last reason I recommend against both Lulumahu and Mānoa is because of the crowds. Both hikes can be very busy, among locals and visitors alike, which is why I strongly believe that Likeke Falls is the best kid-friendly waterfall hike on Oʻahu, but be prepared for a typically muddy adventure!
Read My Separate Post: Likeke Falls Trail
3. Hauʻula Loop Trail
Distance: 2.7 miles / 4.3 km
The Hauʻula Loop Trail is one of Oʻahu’s best kept secrets!
That being said, I think it can be difficult to choose between the Hauʻula Loop or the ʻAiea Loop Trail as the better choice, but personally, I choose ʻAiea because it’s more centrally located and has a milder elevation gain.
However, if you’re staying at Turtle Bay, then the Hauʻula Loop Trail is easily the best kid-friendly trail that you can choose.
Furthermore, I love the Hauʻula Loop Trail because it’s not crowded by any means, you get beautiful, remote Hawaiʻi views toward the top of the hike, and the forest through the Cook Pine trees is stunning when the light shines through, making you feel like you’re hiking somewhere on the Oregon Coast!
Read My Separate Post: Hauʻula Loop Trail
4. ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail (Sunset)
Distance: 1.2 miles / 1.9 km
Between the Hauʻula Loop Trail listed above and the ʻEhukai Pillbox here, I personally believe that it’s a difficult choice to try and decide which is the better North Shore hike for kids.
That being said, if you’d like to hike for sunset, the obvious choice is the ʻEhukai Pillbox because the Hauʻula Loop Trail is simply not a sunset hike.
As for the ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail, the distance is much shorter, but the elevation gain is more significant. By this, I mean that all of the elevation gain on the ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail is all at once in the middle of the trail. However, the beginning and end of the hike are flat.
The last thing to note is that after it has recently rained, the lower sections of the ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail can be very muddy! The same can’t be said about the Hauʻula Loop Trail, which typically dries out much quicker after it has recently rained.
Read My Separate Post: ʻEhukai Pillbox Trail
5. Mānoa Falls Trail
Distance: 1.7 miles / 2.7 km
While it may seem like the Mānoa Falls Trail is a bad suggestion based on what I said earlier about Likeke Falls, I still believe that Mānoa Falls is a great kid-friendly waterfall hike near Waikīkī.
However, I didn’t list Mānoa Falls higher on this list because next to Diamond Head, Mānoa Falls is the busiest trail in Hawaiʻi, being that it’s the most advertised waterfall trail for visitors staying in Waikīkī.
Regardless, all hiking in Hawaiʻi is very beautiful, and if Mānoa Falls makes the most sense for your itinerary, I think it’s a great kid-friendly trail to consider!
Read My Separate Post: Mānoa Falls Trail
6. Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail
Distance (Roundtrip): 2.5 miles / 4.0 km
The Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail may be the easiest hike on this list.
I say this because, from the trailhead to the lighthouse, the hike follows an entirely paved path, which is one main reason why parents who have strollers may prefer to hike the Makapuʻu Lighthouse Trail over other options.
In addition, the hike up to Makapuʻu Point, where the lighthouse is located, makes for one of the best sunrise hikes on Oʻahu, which is also my preferred time to go, as shade on the trail is very limited.
Read My Separate Post: Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail
7. Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Trail (Digging Hill)
Distance: 2.2 miles / 3.5 km
If you’re up for what can be a bit of a muddy adventure, the hike up to Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli makes for a great kid-friendly adventure at any time of the day!
Overall, I don’t think that most consider the Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Pillbox Trail to be a good kid-friendly adventure, but that also comes with the hike being one of the more untrafficked trails on the island, which shouldn’t be overlooked when talking about easy trails on the busy island of Oʻahu.
Nevertheless, if you’re up for the what can be a muddy challenge, Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli is a great choice, especially at sunrise, which is when this photo was taken.
Read My Separate Post: Puʻu Māʻeliʻeli Trail(Digging Hill)
8. Lanikai Pillbox Trail (Kaʻiwa Ridge)
Distance: 1.0 miles / 1.6 km
The Lanikai Pillbox Trail can feel like a bit of an obvious choice when talking about the best kid-friendly hikes on Oʻahu, as the trail is only 0.5 miles (0.8 km) each way.
That being said, the Lanikai Pillbox Trail is a visitor and local favorite because of the panoramic views of Oʻahu’s east side, as well as the views of the Mokulua Islands, located just offshore.
All said, these islands that you can see from the hike are actually open to the public, meaning they can be visited by kayak only. If you’re interested to learn more about this fun adventure, click on one of the kayak tours below, or you can learn more about the hike, as well as the Mokulua Islands, in my separate post.
Read My Separate Post: Lanikai Pillbox Trail (Kaʻiwa Ridge)
9. Puʻu O Hulu (Pink Pillbox)
Distance: 1.6 miles / 2.6 km
Both the Puʻu O Hulu Trail, more commonly known as the Pink Pillbox Trail, and the Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail mentioned below, are the two most challenging kid-friendly hikes on this list.
I say this because both trails have the largest elevation gain of all the hikes on this list, meaning the hike up Puʻu O Hulu, at only 0.8 miles (1.3 km) each way, is a very short but steep West Side adventure.
Overall, I love the Puʻu O Hulu Trail as a sunset hike, which is definitely the best time to hike up Puʻu O Hulu, as there is essentially no shade until you reach the pillboxes at the top.
Read My Separate Post: Puʻu O Hulu (Pink Pillbox)
10. Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
Distance: 4.7 miles / 7.6 km
The Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail is the longest and steepest hike on this list, but I wanted to include it because it is one of the easiest ridge hikes on Oʻahu.
Essentially, Wiliwilinui is great if you’re traveling with kids that you trust to hike more independently, whereas some of the other options on this list are better for parents who may need to stay close by their kids along some of the more 'challenging' sections.
Know that, like some of the other trails on this list, Wiliwilinui can be very muddy. However, as long as your group is in good hiking shape to tackle the steeper terrain toward the end, then this is one of the easiest and shortest trails to hike up high into some of Oʻahu’s rugged native-forested landscapes.
In all, Wiliwilinui is a well-trafficked state trail to climb to the beautiful Koʻolau Summit, a completely separate cross-island hike that spans from Pūpūkea on the North Shore to the Makapuʻu Lighthouse in the south.
Read My Separate Post: Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
My Print - Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail
Native Hawaiian Plants on Oʻahu
If you’d like to learn about some of the native Hawaiian plants that you are likely to encounter, I encourage you to check out my post, which I wrote to help people identify and learn more about many of the native species across the Hawaiian Islands.
Some of the more common and well-known native species include Koa, Uluhe, ʻŌhiʻa lehua, Hau, Alani, and ʻUhaloa—to truly only name a few.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
