Kuliʻouʻou Ridge Trail

Kuliʻouʻou Ridge Trail

Kuliʻouʻou Ridge Trail
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles141 reviews
Excellent
98
Very good
37
Average
5
Poor
0
Terrible
1

Peru201193
Las Vegas, NV444 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Friends
The view is stunning at the end of the trail, no doubt very rewarding for those who can make it up there, and back down. It’s tougher than the first 2 miles of the Napali Coast trail on Kauai. It’s the combination of mud and slippery that makes this trail a no joke for those who want to do it

1. Get a hiking stick or pick up one along the way. You will need it for the last stretch. Steep steps on mud and wet tree roots. Those roots looks nice and nice holding place for your feet - deceiving. The tree roots are exponentially slippery than mud when wet.

2. Coming up is tiring. Getting down is knee jerking.

3. Start early. View is better. Trail less crowded

4. Wear long sleeves, long pants. Or be the feast to the tropical bugs

5. Bring water, hat, jacket for the top

Overall, the trail is not dangerous just very wet muddy and slippery.

It does have one of the best views on any Hawaii island
Written December 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

VoyagerZ5533OA
59 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
I LOVED this trail and picked it specifically because of the changes in scenery as you go up. I was not disappointed!

Difficulty level: Surprisingly okay! I was so nervous about the comments calling this a tough hike that I almost skipped it, but I ended up having no trouble (wasn't even sore the next day!). I don't go to the gym and haven't hiked in years, but I can walk long distances and have lots of stairs in my house so maybe that counts? Our 7-year-old wouldn't have wanted to do it, though. Some of the steps at the top were quite high (1+ ft) and I felt safer going down sideways in some parts.

Tips: (1) Start early! We were able to find easy parking this way but you need to be extra quiet. We locked our car silently to not disturb sleeping neighbors. (2) Again, start early! We started our hike around 6:30 am. It was still cool and it didn't get hot until we were already getting to the top, about 1h50min later. We didn't need sunscreen. (3) Did I mention, start early? We had the trail to ourselves and it made the experience feel more magical, especially the middle section, before the final push to the top. We stopped once in a while to look around, listen to nature, and take it all in. On the way back, we met at least 40 hikers and it definitely didn't feel the same. (4) Bring water and snacks, obviously. Hiking boots were also helpful and you won't worry if it's muddy that day or not. (5) Take your time and enjoy.
Written May 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Murphy M
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
Gorgeous hike with a great view at the end! Tough for sure but totally worth it. Steps at the top can get a bit slippery, especially if there is weather so be careful. Also, top of the mountain is sandy and slippery as well!
Written May 31, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GeneralShamu
New York City, NY1,275 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021
This was a proper hike without the crowds - at least in the morning. If you go early it is far easier as you have already ascended a bit once it begins to get hot around mid-morning (9am say).

It is refreshingly windy at the top and the vantage point is just remarkable.
Written May 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

J H
Calgary, Canada411 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Parking is in a residential area. This hike was longer than posted on All Trails. It starts with lots of switch backs in a forest. Then some trail hiking. Then some stairs. These stairs were pretty washed out but still do able. It was pretty dry (except for a few sections in the forest) so the stairs weren't too bad for us. The view from the top is very pretty. We did prefer Wiliwilinui Ridge over this hike, it was shorter and more of a 360 view. Approx 5 miles round trip. Took us about 4 hours. But there were definitely quicker groups passing us.
Written February 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

chowso
Gloucester, UK1,745 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Couples
This is a challenging climb. We did it after Koko railway and the lighthouse trail so probably better to do it as your only hike of the day. The views at the top are awesome but it’s too windy to appreciate them for long, plus there’s a lot of grit in the wind. The stairs at the top are the hardest part. You’ll need lots of water - we ran out with about 2/3 of the trip back left to go (only took 500ml each). Also good shoes - lots of trip hazards and potential to slip. Worth doing despite all of that, I only wish we hadn’t done it on the same day as the other trails.
Written June 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sandra P
Montreal, Canada196 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
It is an excellent hike for experienced hikers that come prepared. We were expecting to hike Moana, but it was closed so we ended up here. This hike is quite steep at points and quite scary. We would have loved to have completed it, the views are spectacular, but unfortunately we got hungry and had to turn back. Next time, we will pack provisions and make a day of it!
Written March 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gitanjali I
11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Family
Strenuous uphill hike , many stairs to climb close to the top. But we managed to do it in good time, knee issues and all. Definitely worth the beautiful view of the ocean and the mountains. The path was shaded and generally quiet.
Written October 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

imperialzp
Montreal, Canada78 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Couples
We hesitated before hiking Kuliouou as it was raining every single day the week we went to O'ahu but we were so glad we did it as it turned out to be by far our favorite hike on the island.

When you arrive, the entrance is near a residential neirbourhood so there is once again very limited parking street. When you start you can choose between Kuliouou valley or ridge. I believe valley is a lot easier and more suitable for debutants or families. We opted for the ridge hike

We did it with a 9 months baby in a baby carrier. To anyone who would ask me if I recommend it with a baby, I would answer it clearly depend of your hiking level as it is an intermediate hike. If you never hiked it is clearly not a good idea to bring your little one there as it can get a little challenging and very steep at times. I would suggest you start by something easier and see how it goes for you. I am amazed every time I go to Hawaii to see people hiking in flip flops, it is very obviously not a trail to do so!

The hike took us 4 hours to do, as it was extremely slippery and muddy we took our time. On a sunny day, I believe it would take 2-3 hours max. Since it was raining, there was nobody, we had the trail to ourself it was magical.

The views are so grandiose!!! If you love hiking and go to O'ahu do not miss it!It was my favorite hike. It is so much more safe that many other hike on the island and the views are crazy beautiful. You get to walk through beautiful tropical forest, a pine cone forest, eucalyptus trees... at the end you see the mountains and ocean very far as it it 2100 feet elevation.
Written February 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

pdxdebbe
Portland, OR143 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017
We wanted to do a hike that included some beautiful views. An online guide said this hike was fairly easy, though long and steep. Wrong! This was an extremely challenging and difficult hike. The view at the end is worth the work. We seton good shape. We felt we were moving as fast as possible and it took us about 4 hours round trip. The trail starts as a dirt path with many rocks and tree roots that often is narrow and requires balance. You transition to an area with lots of pine needles on the ground. Then the trail becomes almost completely covered with tree roots, which are very slippery. All while continually going uphill, sometimes quite sharply. It rained at the beginning of our hike which made the entire hike slippery and muddy. The top has endless flights of stairs that are basically metal frames full of dirt, water and mud. No railings so quite difficult as the path falls off on one side of the stairs. You are near the top of the ridge at this point. There are four sections of stairs. The top is amazing. You can see beaches on both sides of the ridge. Truly beautiful. Getting down is hard and steep. It’s a major workout. Bring water and energy bars.
Written October 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Kuliʻouʻou Ridge Trail - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

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