Wailua Game Management Area
Managed by Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife
531 acres0.8 mi of trail
Moalepe Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Travis.Thurston · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Kapaa
28% of Kapaa’s land is conserved: 1,807 acres
The biggest trail networks: Wailua Game Management Area (0.8 mi). 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.8 miles of mapped trail cross Kapaa, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #54 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
1,807 acres · of 10.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
53 ac
4.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
2.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
5 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Kapaa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kapaa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kapaa is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Kapaa’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (53 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13CParks close to home42% 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 57%
LessMore
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 42%
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Kapaa’s 28% is ahead of 76% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of them.
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 Wailua Game Management Area, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kealia Forest Reserve
Managed by Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife
194 acres0.3 mi of trail
Moalepe Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Wailua Game Management Area531 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife
Kealia Forest Reserve194 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife
Kapaa New Park17 acres
DirectionsKapaa Beach Park9 acres
DirectionsKapahi Park4 acres
DirectionsWaipouli Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,807 conserved acres
28% of Kapaa’s land. Who manages Kapaa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land1,026 ac
State natural resources725 ac
Town or city36 ac
County29 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)24 ac
Other state land11 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,026 acState Conservation Area · 725 acLocal Park · 36 acLocal Other or Unknown · 29 acConservation Easement · 24 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 24 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 11 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 | 1,026 | Open |
| Wailua Game Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 530 | Restricted |
| Kealia Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 195 | Restricted |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 29 | Unknown |
| Kapaa Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Kapaa Beach Park State Recreation Area | Other state land | 11 | Open |
| Waipoli Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Kapahi Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Gore Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Kapaa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Kapaa
5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Kapaa
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Kapaa
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Kapaa
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Kapaa
Kaiākea
DirectionsPicnic areas in Kapaa
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.1 mi
Ho'opi'i Falls Trail1.0 mi
Moalepe Trail1.0 mi
Makaleha Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
2Soccer
1Multi-sport
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).
Seto BuildingBuilding · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Kapaa: 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) | 10.9 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.0 | 10.8 |
| High (°F) | 79 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 82 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 81 | 79 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.6 |
July is the driest month (1.8 in) and September the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.6 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Kapaa →
Next door
Kapaa and its neighbors
Kapaa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapaa | 28% | 0.5 | 5 | 42% | B |
| Wailua Homesteads | 53% | 0.9 | 67 | 72% | A |
| Wailua | 37% | 0.7 | 26 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kapaa
Where can I hike in Kapaa?
The longest trail networks: Wailua Game Management Area, 0.8 miles; Kealia Forest Reserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kapaa is conserved land?
28% 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 Kapaa’s trails?
Wailua Game Management Area and Kealia Forest Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kapaa?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kapaa?
12,179 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kapaa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,023 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kapaa have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 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 Kapaa 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 →