ʻŌlaʻa Forest Reserve
Nature preserve
99 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Fern Forest
Few parks or trails are on the map in Fern Forest
13% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Fern Forest, 0.1 per square mile of land. 2% of Fern Forest’s land is conserved, about 154 acres.
Ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
154 acres · of 12.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fern Forest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fern Forest is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fern Forest’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13DParks close to home13% of residents within a half mile of a park · HI 83% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 11%
LessMore
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Fern Forest’s 2% is ahead of 11% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 8% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Fern Forest. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kahaualeʻa Natural Area Reserve
Nature preserve
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
154 conserved acres
2% of Fern Forest’s land. Who manages Fern Forest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources117 ac
State Department of Land37 ac
State Conservation Area · 117 acState Resource Management Area · 37 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Ola'a Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 99 | Restricted |
| State Department of Land State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 37 | Open |
| Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 17 | Restricted |
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Ala Kapena0.2 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Fern Forest: May to July
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.1 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.0 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 11.7 | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| High (°F) | 74 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 77 | 78 | 77 | 75 | 74 |
| Rain (in) | 13.1 | 15.8 | 22.9 | 22.0 | 15.0 | 18.1 | 19.0 | 23.5 | 16.1 | 18.2 | 23.1 | 22.3 |
January is the driest month (13.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 23.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Fern Forest →
Next door
Fern Forest and its neighbors
Fern Forest has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fern Forest | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | 13% | D |
| Mountain View | 38% | 1.0 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Royal Hawaiian Estates | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fern Forest
How much of Fern Forest is conserved land?
2% 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 Fern Forest’s trails?
ʻŌlaʻa Forest Reserve and Kahaualeʻa Natural Area Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fern Forest?
104,149 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fern Forest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 37 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fern Forest have?
Ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Fern Forest neighbors.
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 →