To start your hike, head to the Kokee Natural History Museum and check in point. Sign-in to the registration book located on the porch of the museum. If you have time and it is open, this quaint museum is worth visiting. Here you will find lots of information about the park, Hawaiian natural history, and culture. Maps of the various trails in Waimena Canyon and the park are available for purchase, along with an array of field guides. There are many high-quality Hawaiian-made crafts for purchase here as well. From the museum, head south (make a right from the parking lot) and walk a few yards to the trailhead, located on the right side of the road.

The first part of the hike is a steady ascent among throngs of koa and strawberry guavas (which are edible and ripe when dark red). There is a good chance the trail will be a bit muddy. You will meander through the rain forest and about two miles in, you will notice a change to a drier climate as you come out of the woods into lower scruffier flora. Continue on, and at the three mile mark, the trail crosses with a hunter’s trail, bypass this and continue toward the Nualolo Cliff Trail. Atop this ridge, if a clear day, the most spectacular view found on the island of Niihau and neighboring Lehua may be seen. As you continue, instead of taking the Cliff Trail, you can continue toward the Lolo Vista Point, offering a magnificent view of Nu’alolo Valley. This bluff was part of the Harrison Ford movie, Six Days and Seven Nights. If you are planning on only doing the Nu’alolo Trail, this conducts this portion of the hike (at least going in this direction). You should allow at least four to five hours for the Nu’alolo Trail, hiking in and back out, for a total of 7.6 miles, more if you plan to stop often. If you plan to do the connecting trails for a loop, allow at least seven hours and be on the trail no later than 10:00am.

Written By: Rana Jackson

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