The most beautiful hikes in Hawai‘i revealed (and rated by effort)

Hawai‘i’s most spectacular hikes reveal the Hawaiian Islands’ grandeur in ways no road ever could.

Lace up your boots and Hawai‘i transforms into a place where ancient volcanoes still shape the land beneath your feet, mist drapes emerald valleys and each trail leads to a view.

Below, the best hikes in Hawai‘i for all fitness levels.

In short

If you only do one hike in Hawai‘i make it Diamond Head (Lē‘ahi) Trail – it’s easily accessible and offers epic views over Waikīkī and the Pacific Ocean.

Is it worth hiking in Hawai‘i?

Absolutely. Millions of years of volcanic forces have carved some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes, with hiking offering the only way to reach the places roads simply can’t.

O‘ahu

Some of the Hawaiian Islands’ most accessible trails unfold just minutes from urban life, yet still deliver the kind of dramatic ridgelines, emerald valleys and ocean vistas that feel anything but close to civilisation.

Diamond Head (Lē‘ahi) Trail

Take in the Honolulu skyline, Waikīkī Beach and the vast Pacific Ocean from the summit. (Credit: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson)

• Best for: Easily accessible for those staying in Waikīkī and unbeatable vistas.
• Distance: 2.6-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Moderate

A popular, short but steep crater climb rewards with Pacific and Honolulu skyline views from the summit bunker. Timed-entry reservations are required in advance on the official website. It’s worth getting up early to get to the top before sunrise.

Mānoa Falls Trail

Pass through an ancient banyan forest. (Credit: Getty / Michelle Mahlke-Sloniecki)

• Best for: Lush rainforest scenery and waterfall chasers
• Distance: 2.6-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate

In the emerald folds of Honolulu’s Mānoa Valley, the Mānoa Falls Trail winds through bamboo groves and towering banyan trees before arriving at a 45-metre waterfall, its setting often mist-laced after rain.

Koko Head Crater Trail

The steep trail skirts the outer rim of the Koko Crater. (Credit: Getty / Jean Suplicy)

• Best for: Fitness-focused hikers seeking a short but intense workout with panoramic coastal views from the top.
• Distance: 2.6-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Challenging

The Koko Head Crater Trail is a relentless but straightforward ascent up an old railway track carved into the side of Koko Crater. More than 1,000 steps climb steeply toward sweeping views of Hawaiʻi Kai, Maunalua Bay and the windward coastline. It’s best attempted early in the morning to avoid the heat, and with plenty of water in hand.

Maui

From sunrise ascents above Haleakalā’s otherworldly crater to shaded wanderings through bamboo forests and waterfall-laced gullies, Maui delivers a sense of scale and beauty best seen on two feet.

Sliding Sands (Keoneheʻeheʻe) Trail

The volcanic trail has been likened to walking on Mars. (Credit: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson)

• Best for: Big-sky volcanic scenery
• Distance: From 11-17 kilometres one way (return varies depending on turnaround point)
• Difficulty: Challenging

Descending from the summit rim of Haleakalā National Park, the Sliding Sands Trail drops into a vast volcanic amphitheatre of cinder cones, rust-red earth and ever-shifting light. There’s the option to turn back at any point or continue deep into the heart of the crater for a full immersion in Maui’s most surreal landscape. Vehicle reservations are required if you plan to enter the park’s summit district between 3am and 7am for sunrise.

ʻIao Needle Lookout Trail

The ʻĪao Needle is a vegetation-covered lava pinnacle that rises 1200 feet. (Credit: Max Wanger)

• Best for: Lush rainforest scenery and iconic Maui geology
• Distance: 0.8-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Easy

The path on the ʻIao Needle Lookout Trail climbs gently through dense tropical vegetation before opening onto a viewing platform that gazes across the iconic ʻIao Needle – a dramatic, needle-like basalt formation rising sharply from the valley floor. Reservations are required.

Pīpīwai Trail

Follow the lush, scenic path to Waimoku Falls. (Credit: Getty / Thomas Doering)

• Best for: A true wilderness experience
• Distance: 6-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Moderate

Set within the lush Kipahulu district, this rainforest walk traverses through bamboo groves, banyan giants and stream crossings before culminating at the thundering Waimoku Falls, a 120-metre cascade plunging into a fern-framed amphitheatre.

Island of Hawai‘i

Hiking on the island of Hawai‘i feels like stepping into a living geology lesson, with trails cutting through hardened lava fields, steaming craters and ancient rainforests.

Kīlauea Iki Trail

Cross a vast, cracked crater floor of grey basalt. (Credit: Getty / Leslie Werhane)

• Best for: Experiencing Hawaiʻi’s raw volcanic power up close
• Distance: 6.4-kilometre loop
• Difficulty: Moderate

The Kīlauea Iki Trail drops from lush rainforest into a solidified lava lake formed during the 1959 eruption of Kīlauea. The loop begins in cool fern forest before descending steeply into the crater floor, where steaming vents, cracked volcanic rock and an almost lunar silence create a surreal sense of scale.

Pololū Valley Lookout Trail

Also known as the ʻĀwini Trail, the Pololū Valley is a short but steep path on the north Kohala Coast of the Big Island. (Credit: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson)

• Best for: Epic landscapes without a full-day hike
• Distance: 3-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Moderate

On the rugged northern tip of the Kohala Coast, the Pololū Valley Lookout Trail plunges dramatically from clifftop panoramas into one of Hawaiʻi’s most striking black-sand valleys, opening onto a wild shoreline where the Pololū Stream meets the Pacific. The return climb is a solid heart-pumper, especially in humidity or after rain when the track turns slick and earthy.

Captain Cook Monument Trail

Kealakekua Bay is visible from the southern tip of Manini Beach. (Credit: Getty / Swathi Chirra)

• Best for: History lovers and those who like a refreshing dip mid-hike
• Distance: 8-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Challenging

For Australian travellers, embarking on a mission to see the striking white obelisk that marks Captain James Cook’s death site in 1779 is the kind of moment that echoes back to school history lessons. The Captain Cook Monument Trail descends from the dry Kona cliffs in Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park into one of the most pristine marine sanctuaries in the Pacific, where you can snorkel over vibrant coral gardens brimming with tropical fish and frequent spinner dolphin sightings.

Kaua‘i

Some of Hawai‘i’s – perhaps the world’s – most awe-inspiring scenery awaits on this lesser-visited island, especially along the Nāpali Coast.

Kalalau Trail

Lush emerald cliffs rise to 4,000 feet above the Pacific on the Nāpali Coast. (Credit: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson)

• Best for: Hardcore adventurers
• Distance: 35-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Challenging

It’s not for the faint-hearted, but tracing a path along the knife-edge cliffs of the Nāpali Coast on the Kalalau Trail is the Hawaiian Islands’ ultimate hiking experience. The two or three-day trek rewards with hidden beaches, cascading waterfalls and the remote, cathedral-like beauty of Kalalau Beach.

Awaʻawapuhi Trail

Take a steady downhill walk to the spectacular ridge-top viewpoint. (Credit: Getty / Wirestock)

• Best for: Nāpali views without the blisters and camping pack
• Distance: 10-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Moderate

A more accessible option for less seasoned hikers, this route in Kōkeʻe State Park delivers many of the same spellbinding vistas without the multi-day commitment.

Canyon Trail to Waipoʻo Falls

Waimea Canyon – aka the ‘Grand Canyon of the Pacific’. (Credit: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Ben Ono)

• Best for: Majestic views
• Distance: 6-kilometre return
• Difficulty: Moderate

This epic trail delivers a front-row seat to the vast splendour of Waimea Canyon – often dubbed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific – where layers of crimson and green ripple across a landscape carved over millennia, culminating at the clifftop above Waipoʻo Falls.

Extra tips

Give it a miss

The scenery on Koko Head Crater Trail in Honolulu gets a bit samey after a while.

Most memorable moment

Walking through a beautiful rainforest into a Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) – a cave-like tunnel formed by fast-moving molten rock – on the Island of Hawai‘i

For first-timers

Some of the islands’ most popular hikes require reservations in advance or permits for out-of-state visitors to ease pressure, safeguard delicate ecosystems and enhance safety.