Kailua Beach Park
Managed by C&C of Honolulu
24 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Travis.Thurston · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Kailua
Kailua has 10 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
13% of Kailua’s land is conserved, about 656 acres. 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 167 acres are parks and preserves, 4.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #31 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
656 acres · of 7.8 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
167 ac
4.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
7.2 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Highest peak
512 ft
Puʻupāpaʻa
Lakes & rivers
1
9 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Kailua?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kailua have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kailua is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #31 of 93 in Hawaii. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kailua’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land4.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (167 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13CParks close to home88% 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 76%
LessMore
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 67%
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Kailua’s 13% is ahead of 49% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.
Water is 27% of Kailua’s area (3 of 11 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Kailua Beach Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kailua District Park
Managed by City and County of Honolulu
18 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Aikahi Community Park
Managed by City and County of Honolulu
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Kailua Beach Park24 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · C&C of Honolulu
DirectionsKailua District Park18 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City and County of Honolulu
DirectionsPohakupu Mini Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEnchanted Lake Community Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City and County of Honolulu
Kalama Beach Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAikahi Community Park7 acres · City and County of Honolulu
DirectionsKeolu Hills Neighborhood Park7 acres
DirectionsLanikai Park2 acres · The Lanikai Association
Kaelepulu Mini Park2 acres
Kalaheo Neighborhood Park1 acres
Who protects it
656 conserved acres
13% of Kailua’s land. Water is left out: Kailua has 7.8 square miles of land and 2.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Kailua’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land353 ac
County298 ac
Town or city67 ac
State parks39 ac
Other state land22 ac
State natural resources4 ac
State Resource Management Area · 353 acLocal Other or Unknown · 249 acLocal Park · 68 acState Park · 39 acLocal Conservation Area · 29 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Department of Land State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 353 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 249 | Unknown |
| Kailua Beach Park State Park | State parks | 38 | Open |
| Kawai Nui Marsh Local Conservation Area | County | 29 | Open |
| Hamakua Marsh Water Bird Sanctuary State Conservation Area | Other state land | 22 | Open |
| Shoreline Local Park | County | 20 | Open |
| Kailua District Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Kaelepulu Playground Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Kawai Nui Neighborhood Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Aikahi Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
40 places to go in Kailua
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Kailua
Plus 6 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Kailua
Kailua PoolIn Kailua District Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Kailua
Lanikai ParkIn Lanikai Park
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Kailua
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Kailua
Peaks in Kailua
Puʻupāpaʻa512 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻuohu292 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻuhalo230 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻu Nao0 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.9 mi
Public Beach Access0.5 mi
Kaʻiwa Ridge Trail0.4 mi
Kai One Beach Access0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
3.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
34Tennis
17Basketball
11Baseball
7Volleyball
2Multi-sport
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Kailua: 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 | 13.1 | 13.4 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.8 |
| High (°F) | 78 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 82 | 79 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
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 Kailua →
Next door
Kailua and its neighbors
Kailua has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kailua | 13% | 1.3 | 4 | 88% | A− |
| Waimanalo | 63% | 1.4 | 7 | 57% | A− |
| Maunawili | 3% | 0.7 | 4 | 36% | C+ |
| Kaneohe Base | 2% | 0.5 | 1 | 91% | C+ |
| Kaneohe | 19% | 0.9 | 5 | 91% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kailua
Where can I hike in Kailua?
The longest trail networks: Kailua Beach Park, 0.2 miles; Kailua District Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kailua is conserved land?
13% 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 Kailua’s trails?
Kailua Beach Park and Kailua District Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kailua?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.2 of painted or protected lanes, 0.6 of off-road paths and 3.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Kailua?
18,292 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kailua or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 475 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kailua have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #31 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 Kailua 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 →