Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park
Nature preserve
16 acres0.1 mi of trail
Manamana Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Huilua Fishpond · Photo: Joel Bradshaw · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Kaaawa
32% of Kaaawa’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 32% of Kaaawa’s land is conserved, about 166 acres. 0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Kaaawa, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
166 acres · of 0.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
28 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.7 mi
Highest peak
469 ft
Crouching Lion
What kind of outdoors town is Kaaawa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kaaawa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kaaawa is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kaaawa’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (28 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · HI 83% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Kaaawa’s 32% is ahead of 84% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 60% of them.
Water is 40% of Kaaawa’s area (1 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 20%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Kaaawa. 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 A to 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.
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 Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
166 conserved acres
32% of Kaaawa’s land. Water is left out: Kaaawa has 0.8 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Kaaawa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners109 ac
County22 ac
State Department of Land21 ac
State parks21 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 109 acState Resource Management Area · 21 acState Park · 21 acLocal Park · 14 acLocal Other or Unknown · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Landowner Watershed Protection Area Watershed Protection Area | Private owners | 109 | Closed |
| State Department of Land State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 21 | Open |
| Ahupuaa O Kahana State Park State Park | State parks | 21 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 9 | Unknown |
| Shoreline Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Swanzy Beach Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Kaaawa Beach Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Kaaawa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Kaaawa
Plus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Kaaawa
1 playground without a name on the map.
Peaks in Kaaawa
Crouching Lion469 ft elevation
DirectionsKauhi358 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Kaaawa
6 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Manamana Trail0.4 mi
Biking & sports
1.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Small HeiauStructure · listed 1973
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Kaaawa: 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.0 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.2 | 13.4 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.8 |
| High (°F) | 79 | 79 | 78 | 80 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 81 | 80 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 6.0 | 5.9 |
June is the driest month (2.5 in) and September the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 6.0 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Kaaawa →
Questions about parks and trails in Kaaawa
Where can I hike in Kaaawa?
The longest trail networks: Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kaaawa is conserved land?
32% 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 Kaaawa’s trails?
Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kaaawa?
1.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Kaaawa?
11,885 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kaaawa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 49 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kaaawa have?
Ahead of 95% 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 Kaaawa 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 →