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East honoluluPhoto: Noahhoward · Public domain
AOutdoors
Outdoors in East Honolulu

26% of East Honolulu’s land is conserved: 3,880 acres

32 miles of mapped trail cross East Honolulu, 1.4 per square mile of land. 1,850 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Koko Head District Park (4 mi), Hanauma Bay State Park (3.3 mi), Kuliouou Forest Reserve (2.9 mi).

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #3 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it

Conserved land
26%
3,880 acres · of 23.0 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,850 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
15 mi lanes
Highest peak
656 ft
Kuamoʻokāne
Lakes & rivers
5
9 beaches · 2 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is East Honolulu?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild26% of the land is conserved; a typical Hawaii town, 14%.A trail town1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 87% of U.S. towns.Parks close to home85% of residents live within a half mile of a park.A beach town6 named beaches on the map.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does East Honolulu have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Honolulu is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #3 of 93 in Hawaii. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Honolulu’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (32 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,850 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home85% of residents within a half mile of a park · HI 83% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 98%

Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so East Honolulu’s 26% is ahead of 73% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 82% of them.

Water is 33% of East Honolulu’s area (11 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.

PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →

The map

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.

1234
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk

Pick a walk

The longest trail network is Koko Head District Park, with 4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Koko Head District Park

Managed by City and County of Honolulu
717 acres4 mi of trail
Koko Crater Tramway
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead

Hanauma Bay State Park

Managed by State of Hawaii
485 acres3.3 mi of trail
The Tram at Hanauma Bay
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Kuliouou Forest Reserve

Managed by State of Hawaii
384 acres2.9 mi of trail
Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Pia Natural Reserve Area

Nature preserve
296 acres0.3 mi of trail
Hawai'iloa Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 25 parks & preserves
Koko Head District Park717 acres · 4 mi of trail · City and County of Honolulu
Directions
Hanauma Bay State Park485 acres · 3.3 mi of trail · State of Hawaii
Directions
Kuliouou Forest Reserve384 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · State of Hawaii
Pia Natural Reserve Area296 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Haha‘ione Valley Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Koko Head Neigborhood Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City and County of Honolulu
Directions
Haha`ione Neighborhood Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City and County of Honolulu
Directions
Waiʻalae Beach Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Paikō Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary28 acres
Directions
Kamiloiki Community Park18 acres
Directions
Maunalua Bay Beach Park10 acres
Directions
Waialae Iki Park9 acres
Directions
Kalama Valley Park6 acres
Kamiloiki Neighborhood Park5 acres
Niu Valley Park5 acres · City and County of Honolulu
Directions
Kuliʻouʻou Park5 acres
Kawaikui Beach Park5 acres
Directions
ʻĀina Haina Community Park4 acres · City and County of Honolulu
Directions
Kuli'ou'ou Beach Park3 acres
Directions
Kamole Mini Park2 acres
‘Āina Koa Neighborhood Park2 acres
Joe Lukela Beach Park2 acres
Directions
Nehu Park1 acres
Wailupe Beach Park1 acres
Directions
Parks and Recreation Center1 acres
Who protects it

3,880 conserved acres

26% of East Honolulu’s land. Water is left out: East Honolulu has 23.0 square miles of land and 11.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages East Honolulu’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County1,864 ac
Town or city1,373 ac
Private owners1,081 ac
State parks353 ac
State natural resources247 ac
Joint195 ac
State Department of Land156 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,805 acWatershed Protection Area · 1,081 acLocal Park · 1,078 acState Conservation Area · 669 acLocal Conservation Area · 452 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 44 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
County Land Local Other or Unknown
Local Other or Unknown
County1,805Unknown
Private Landowner Watershed Protection Area
Watershed Protection Area
Private owners1,081Closed
Koko Head Regional Park
Local Park
Town or city503Open
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Town or city452Open
Kaiwi State Scenic Shoreline
State Conservation Area
State parks323Open
Kuliouou Forest Reserve
State Conservation Area
State natural resources210Restricted
Koko Crater Botanical Garden
Local Park
Town or city181Open
State Department of Land State Resource Management Area
State Resource Management Area
State Department of Land156Open
Hanauma Bay State Underwater Park
State Conservation Area
Joint98Open
Aina Haina Nature Preserve
Local Park
Joint85Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

45 places to go in East Honolulu

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Beaches in East Honolulu
Alan Davis Beach
Directions
Hanauma BeachIn Hanauma Bay State Park
Directions
Kahala Beach
Directions
Sandy Beach
Directions
Spitting caves
Directions
Waialae Beach
Directions

Plus 3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

8 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miUnpaved · 13.2 mi
Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail3.8 mi
Trail2.6 mi
Hawai'iloa Ridge Trail2.0 mi
Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail2.0 mi
Kaiwi Shoreline Trail1.2 mi
Koʻolau Summit Trail0.8 mi
Koko Crater Tramway0.4 mi
The Tram at Hanauma Bay0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Kaho'ohaihai InletKalauhaʻehaʻe FishpondpondKaloko InletKānewai FishpondpondPaikō Lagoon
Biking & sports

15 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

15 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
69Tennis
31Basketball
14Pickleball
10Baseball
7Soccer
3Multi-sport
3Equestrian
2Volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

2 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
J.B. Guard HouseBuilding · listed 2015
About it
Henry J. and Alyce Kaiser EstateBuilding · listed 2019
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in East Honolulu: April to August

NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)11.011.412.012.613.113.413.312.912.211.611.110.8
High (°F)787879808183848585848279
Rain (in)4.84.55.43.32.41.31.92.02.63.55.45.5

June is the driest month (1.3 in) and September the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.5 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in East Honolulu →

Next door

East Honolulu and its neighbors

East Honolulu has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Urban Honolulu106 miEast Honolulu32 miWaimanalo Beach1.3 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
East Honolulu26%1.43685%A
Urban Honolulu30%1.7797%A
Waimanalo Beach52%0.7899%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in East Honolulu

Where can I hike in East Honolulu?

The longest trail networks: Koko Head District Park, 4 miles; Hanauma Bay State Park, 3.3 miles; Kuliouou Forest Reserve, 2.9 miles; Pia Natural Reserve Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of East Honolulu is conserved land?

26% of its land, against a typical 14% for a Hawaii town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.

Are dogs allowed on East Honolulu’s trails?

Koko Head District Park and Hanauma Bay State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in East Honolulu?

15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 15 of painted or protected lanes.

Is there public land near East Honolulu?

18,536 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Honolulu or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,993 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does East Honolulu have?

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 of 93 in Hawaii. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Trail talk

Conditions, parking and favorite walks from East Honolulu neighbors.

Town Square →
Share a tip
Sources

Where this page comes from

Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →