Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve
Managed by Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife
233 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Bob Linsdell · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Waimea
37% of Waimea’s land is conserved: 429 acres
3.3 miles of mapped trail cross Waimea, 1.8 per square mile of land. 82% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 40 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
429 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
1.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
40 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Waimea?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waimea have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waimea is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waimea’s overall grade.
Conserved land37% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (40 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home82% 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 93%
LessMore
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Waimea’s 37% is ahead of 86% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 89% of them.
Water is 15% of Waimea’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 31%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve233 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife
Waimea Athletic Field11 acres
DirectionsHapokele Park11 acres
DirectionsLucy Wright Park3 acres
DirectionsWaimea Landing1 acres
DirectionsBoys and Girls Club1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
429 conserved acres
37% of Waimea’s land. Water is left out: Waimea has 1.9 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Waimea’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land393 ac
County33 ac
Other state land18 ac
Private owners7 ac
State parks2 ac
State Resource Management Area · 393 acLocal Other or Unknown · 26 acLocal Park · 18 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 acState Park · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 7 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 | 393 | Open |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 26 | Unknown |
| Waimea Athletic Field Local Recreation Area | Other state land | 13 | Open |
| Hapokele Park Local Park | Private owners | 7 | Open |
| Captain Cooks Memorial Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Waimea River Park Local Park | Other state land | 5 | Open |
| Waimea State Recreation Pier State Park | State parks | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Waimea
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Waimea
Waimea Swimming Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Waimea
Waimeai Canyon Middle School Playground
DirectionsBoat launches in Waimea
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Waimea
1 campground without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
4Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
1Equestrian
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Waimea: 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) | 10.9 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.2 | 13.5 | 13.3 | 12.9 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.8 |
| High (°F) | 80 | 80 | 80 | 81 | 83 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 83 | 81 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 4.2 |
June is the driest month (0.6 in) and August the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.2 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Waimea →
Next door
Waimea and its neighbors
Waimea 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waimea | 37% | 1.8 | 22 | 82% | A |
| Kekaha | 33% | 0.4 | 13 | 87% | A− |
| Pakala Village | — 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 Waimea
Where can I hike in Waimea?
The longest trail networks: Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waimea is conserved land?
37% 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 Waimea’s trails?
Puʻu Ka Pele Forest Reserve and Waimea Athletic Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Waimea?
23,987 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waimea or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 419 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waimea have?
Ahead of 93% 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 Waimea 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 →