Oahu has hiking enthusiasts aplenty, so it was unusual to see a trail with hardly anyone on it. Guess that's the benefit of hiking in remote Pupukea on the famed North Shore.


This is the road that leads to the Kaunala Trail head – follow the carpet of tree needles.

A couple friends who live in nearby Mililani and I hit the Kaunala Trail over the weekend and were equal parts impressed and confused. The trail is magnificent: It traverses the Pupukea-Paumalu Forest Reserve, along valley walls and floors with multiple elevation changes to keep your heart rate up, punching through eucalyptus forests that fill the air with that heavenly scent. With so few people in evidence, it was gloriously peaceful – all you could hear were forest birds and rustling trees (and our heavy breathing on the way up).

The forest part of the trail (roughly 2½ miles in) dead ends into a back road that appears only to be used by ATV enthusiasts. We'd actually heard one zip by a couple hundred feet before the end of the trail, right above our heads, which triggered some wild looks among us. ("What the...?") The road here is chewed up with chunky, ankle-displacing rocks, but hang right and tread carefully and you'll reach the summit, with striking panoramas of the Waianae mountain range, Haleiwa town and the Pacific.

Going past the summit, you reconnect with a paved, unused road. This was the strangest part of the trail: though it mostly led downward and back toward where we came from, it was such a pristine road – with fully paved gutters and gleaming guardrails – that it seemed like we weren't in the country anymore. And no one was on this road – no cars, no bikes, no people. One friend started questioning whether this was the right way to go, and all I could say was the state trail maintenance people seemed to think so: we kept coming across their colorful plastic ties indicating we were on the trail.

Eventually we saw an older couple coming up the other way, and the trail head we originally started on appeared on our right. We were preparing ourselves mentally for going back the way we came, but fortunately we stayed the course.

Although another couple of hours on that trail wouldn't have been so bad.

We topped off our hiking adventure with some well-earned calories at Waialua Bakery: Piled high turkey sandwiches and coconut-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies.

Trail Guidelines: This is a groomed trail, but an abundance of trees and root networks that cross the trail make it very uneven in places, so watch your footing. Bring water and a snack.

Parking: From Kamehameha Highway, turn mauka (toward the mountain) at Pupukea Road, where the Foodland is. Take it all the way up until you come to a gate. This is where a Boy Scout camp is. Don't park there, just park along Pupukea Road: there's plenty of space. Climb the gate at the start of the road, and hike up about ¾-mile. The trail head that takes you into the forest is on the left, or if you prefer the paved road, just keep walking: You'll see the chewed-up road on the left about 2 miles up that will lead you to the summit.

See Kaunala Trail in 3D »


Nick and Annie ease on down the road. The trail head is on the left about ¾-mile in.


The trail head. Tons of eucalyptus here. Breathe deep.


This open grassy area was near the end of the forest trail.


Ah, simply wonderful mountain views!


That's the Pacific in the distance...


And the summit... Waianae mountains, Waialua Bay and Haleiwa town.