PAUAO RIDGE
Length: 6 miles round trip
Hike difficulty: intermediate
Type of hike: starts as leisurely stroll in Kahana Valley then becomes tough ungraded ridge to junction with Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST)
Locale: Kahana Valley - the ridge separating Kahana and Punaluu valleys
Access: open
Hazards: narrow spots, slippery if attempted in the rainDirections to trailhead: (from Honolulu) At Punchbowl St. get on H-1 heading west. Take Likelike Hwy up Kalihi Valley through the Wilson Tunnel. The highway forks. Keep right for Kahekili Hwy. Kahekili becomes Kamehameha Hwy, which continues up the windward coast. Drive through the villages of Kahalu'u and Waiahole to Ka'a'awa. Pass the Crouching Lion Inn on the left. The road curves left to go around Kahana Bay. Cross Kahana Stream on two bridges. By a large palm grove turn left into Kahana Valley State Park. Pass the green Orientation Center on the right. Drive another half mile into the valley on the paved access road then park in a cleared area on the right just before a gate fronting a fairly new Hawaiian Homelands community.
Hike directions: Continue along the paved access road on foot. Pass houses on both sides of the road. Go around a second gate (locked). The road narrows to one lane. Climb steadily through introduced forest. Reach a junction marked by a hunting area sign. Turn right and up on a paved road
leading to a water tank. Just before the water tank, depart the paved road by veering right onto a trail. As one faces inland, the trail leads to the crest of the main ridge on the right (Pauao Ridge).Hike description: After gaining the crest of Pauao Ridge, the trail exhibits classic roller coaster action prior to the final sustained steep ascent to the junction with the KST. After reaching the junction with the KST, go back the same way or take the Summit Trail south to the Waikane Trail and come
out Waikane Valley. Realize, however, that a jaunt along the KST is for experienced hikers only.The reward for doing this hike is outstanding views of verdant, largely undeveloped Kahana and Punaluu valleys, as well as the impressive sheer windward cliffs of the Ko'olau Mountain Range.
Patrick Rorie (09/01)