Hiking the Tantalus Arboretum Trail on Oʻahu
Distance: 0.3 miles / 0.5 km
The Tantalus Arboretum Trail is, without a doubt, the easiest trail to hike on Oʻahu.
This is largely because of how short the hike is, but in my opinion, the trail is a great place to take a casual walk through the forest without wandering too far away from where you started.
Tantalus Arboretum Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Tantalus Arboretum Trail is located in one of a few different spots on the side of Tantalus Drive near the trailhead.
Out of caution, consider the Tantalus Arboretum Trailhead to be a high-crime area for petty theft, meaning you should never leave visible bags or anything valuable in your car.
Google Maps Directions: Tantalus Arboretum Trailhead
Hiking the Tantalus Arboretum Trail
Of all the trails on Tantalus, the Tantalus Arboretum Trail is arguably the least-trafficked trail, and the lack of maintenance and traffic on the trail make the hike a little more confusing than you might think.
By comparison, the Tantalus Loop Trail is hiked every day. However, because the Arboretum Trail is not connected to the larger network of trails on Tantalus, it doesn’t see near the same amount of visitors.
Tantalus Arboretum Loop
After just 0.1 miles (0.2 km), the Tantalus Arboretum Trail splits into both an upper and lower loop.
Personally, I typically hike the upper (left) trail first because I like to hike through the tree tunnel in this direction.
The tree tunnel and the subsequent right turn may be the most confusing part of the Tantalus Arboretum Trail.
Here, the trail passes through the close grouping of trees, then drops down a steep step before leaving the little tunnel behind on the other side.
On the far side of the tunnel, you begin the lower 'half' of the Tantalus Arboretum Loop Trail.
This part of the trail may not be as obvious as it should be on account of the overgrowth, but you can find the trail curving sharply to the right through the vines before continuing on a more obvious path that immediately follows.
This is one of the nicer and more accessible Ficus trees on Oʻahu.
Tantalus Loop Junction
This is where the short Tantalus Arboretum Loop meets back up with the beginning of the trail.
If you plan on doing this short walk without stopping, then shorts and a short sleeved shirt are perfect. However, if you want to slow down and take any photos in the tree tunnel or other location, you will want to hike in long pants and long sleeves because of the mosquitoes.
All of the fallen leaf litter is essentially a perfect mosquito habitat, and being the case, the mosquitoes are horrible on pretty much every inch of the Tantalus Arboretum Trail, even during the warmest parts of the day.
Hawaiʻi Hiking Pants
That being said, I recommend the convertible pants below if you are looking for hiking pants to use here and on other Oʻahu trails.
Below are my two recommendations that hold up the best with the overgrowth here in Hawaiʻi, but with any hiking pants that need to be durable, make sure that they are at or near 100% nylon. This is really the most important factor!
Native Plants on Tantalus Arboretum
The Tantalus Arboretum Trail is a heavily invaded trail covered in non-native species, like Golden Pothos, Ginger, and various invasive trees.
For this reason, I recommend other trails off the Tantalus Loop Trail to see native plants, which is best off the Mānoa Cliff Trail.
All said, if you would like to learn more about tons of native Hawaiian plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
