Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area
Park
105 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Kamakahonu, Residence Of King Kamehameha I · Photo: W Nowicki · CC BY 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Kailua
21% of Kailua’s land is conserved: 1,876 acres
The biggest trail networks: Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area (1.1 mi). 135 acres are parks and preserves, 6.2 per 1,000 residents. 54% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #53 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
1,876 acres · of 13.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
135 ac
6.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.8 mi
5.2 mi lanes · 0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
5 beaches
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 58% of U.S. towns, #53 of 93 in Hawaii. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kailua’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land6.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (135 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13CParks close to home54% 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 58%
LessMore
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 43%
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Kailua’s 21% is ahead of 68% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% of them.
Water is 28% of Kailua’s area (5 of 19 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Keolonāhihi State Historical Park
Park
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area105 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKeolonāhihi State Historical Park14 acres
Pualani Blue Park7 acres
DirectionsHale Hālāwai2 acres
DirectionsQueen Liliokalani Park1 acres
Hillcrest Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,876 conserved acres
21% of Kailua’s land. Water is left out: Kailua has 13.8 square miles of land and 5.4 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 Land1,704 ac
State parks124 ac
County49 ac
Other state land4 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,704 acState Park · 126 acLocal Other or Unknown · 40 acLocal Park · 9 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Department of Land State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 1,704 | Open |
| Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area State Park | State parks | 110 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 40 | Unknown |
| Keolonahihi State Historical Park State Park | State parks | 14 | Open |
| Pualani Blue Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Hale Halawai Park State Park | Other state land | 3 | Open |
| Hillcrest Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
| Hulihe'E Palace State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Kailua
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Kailua
Honl's Beach
DirectionsPlus 4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Kailua
Ali'i Saltwater Pool
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Kailua
Queen Liliokalani PavillionIn Queen Liliokalani Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Kailua
Old Airport Park Disc Golf CourseIn Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Kings Highway Foot Trail1.6 mi
Old RR Grade0.4 mi
Walua Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
4.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
18Tennis
8Basketball
5Baseball
4Soccer
1Skate park
1Field hockey
1Beach volleyball
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kailua: April to June
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 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 11.7 | 11.2 | 10.9 |
| High (°F) | 81 | 82 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 84 | 82 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
July is the driest month (0.5 in) and August the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 1.4 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kailua →
Next door
Kailua and its neighbors
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 | 21% | 0.3 | 6 | 54% | B |
| Holualoa | 32% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Kaiminani | 59% | 1.1 | 172 | 16% | A |
| Kahaluu-Keauhou | 1% | 0.5 | 3 | 52% | C |
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: Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kailua is conserved land?
21% 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?
Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area and Keolonāhihi State Historical Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kailua?
9.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.2 of painted or protected lanes, 0.3 of off-road paths and 4.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Kailua?
19,362 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kailua or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,829 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kailua have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #53 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 →