Go Visit Hawaii

Over the past few months, I’ve written about several free online hiking guides here at Go Visit Hawaii. Since those guides were scatter through the site, I thought it would be useful to consolidate all the hiking resources in one post. I plan to keep this post updated as I hear of new guides and helpful information. So, if you know of any new resources, please add them in a comment. (Note: The photo on the left was taken from a hike into the Waimea Canyon on Kauai.)

Na Ala Hele

Let’s start this list with the official state of Hawaii’s hiking trail guide, Na Ala Hele. This guide covers hikes from all the islands, including Lanai and Molokai. It gives you basic trail information such as distance, difficulty, elevation, and approximate time to allow for the hike. The web site provides directions to the trail head and an overview of what you will see. The guide also includes free basic trail maps, which is useful, but lacking in details.

Kauai Explorer

The Kauai Explorer online hiking guide is awesome. The only thing they can do to improve the site is to add more hikes and I think they are working on it. In fact their web site says they are expanding statewide. This guide covers all the basics, plus has hike reviews and virtual tours of the hikes. I look forward to seeing this site expand.

Backyard Oahu

This online hiking guide focused on Oahu’s trails lists over 80 different trails. In addition to the basics like directions to the trail head, distances, difficulties, this site also provides detailed descriptions of the trails and lets you know what to expect. It appears that this great guide is frequently updated.

Additional Hawaii Hiking Resources

• Maui’s Haleakala National Park online hiking information provides some overviews of hikes, but you will need to contact the park for more details.
• Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park has quite a bit of hiking information including journals written by park visitors. They have this list that includes miles of great day hikes.
• Article about hiking the Big Island’s Waipio Valley rim. This trail is on private land, so you have to pay for the guided tour.
• Go Visit Hawaii’s advice for hiking Kauai’s Kalalau trail, arguably Hawaii’s top hike.
• Go Visit Hawaii’s recommendation for a great hike in the Hawaii Volcanoes Park - Kilauea Iki.
• Go Visit Hawaii’s tips for hiking to the active volcano lava flow.
• Hawaii State Parks hiking website with maps and advice.
• And finally, don’t forget the mosquito repellant.

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