Kohala Forest Reserve
Nature preserve
1,809 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Bonus Onus · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Waimea
16% of Waimea’s land is conserved: 4,093 acres
The biggest trail networks: Kohala Forest Reserve (1.3 mi), Waimea Nature Park (Ulu La'au) (0.6 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 16 miles of mapped trail cross Waimea, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #60 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
4,093 acres · of 39.4 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
84 ac
9.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
4,091 ft
Hāloa
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 53% of U.S. towns, #60 of 93 in Hawaii. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waimea’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical HI town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · HI 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark land9.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (84 acres) · HI 4 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home25% 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 53%
LessMore
Hawaii towns of 2,500+ (93)Ahead of 36%
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Waimea’s 16% is ahead of 58% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 40% 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 Kohala Forest Reserve, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Waimea Nature Park (Ulu La'au)
Park
12 acres0.6 mi of trail
The Streamside Trail of Waimea
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Kohala Forest Reserve1,809 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Waimea Nature Park (Ulu La'au)12 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWaimea Park17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWaimea District Park41 acres
DirectionsChurch Row Park3 acres
Who protects it
4,093 conserved acres
16% of Waimea’s land. Who manages Waimea’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land2,081 ac
State natural resources1,797 ac
Private owners201 ac
County22 ac
Other state land3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,081 acState Conservation Area · 1,797 acWatershed Protection Area · 201 acLocal Other or Unknown · 13 acLocal Park · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 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 | 2,081 | Open |
| Kohala Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,797 | Restricted |
| Private Landowner Watershed Protection Area Watershed Protection Area | Private owners | 201 | Closed |
| County Land Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 13 | Unknown |
| Wiamea Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Other state land | 3 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in Waimea
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Waimea
Anuenue PlaygroundIn Waimea Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Waimea
Hāloa4,091 ft elevation · In Kohala Forest Reserve
DirectionsKaʻala3,973 ft elevation · In Kohala Forest Reserve
DirectionsPuʻuʻowāʻowaka3,448 ft elevation
DirectionsHōkūʻula3,366 ft elevation
DirectionsHoloholokū3,251 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻulala3,205 ft elevation · In Kohala Forest Reserve
DirectionsPuu Kikoni3,202 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻukī3,202 ft elevation
Directions5 more peaks
Puʻukakanihia3,130 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻumanu3,005 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻumaile2,959 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻupā2,661 ft elevation
DirectionsPuʻuhuluhulu2,464 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 1.4 mi
Fire Road 112.4 mi
The Streamside Trail of Waimea1.2 mi
Fire Road 141.1 mi
Fire Road 131.0 mi
Fire Road 80.9 mi
Fire Road 100.7 mi
Despoilation Alley0.4 mi
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
3Baseball
2Football
1Softball
1Soccer
1Skate park
1Tennis
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). 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 and May
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 | 11.5 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 10.9 |
| High (°F) | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 84 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
July is the driest month (0.2 in) and August the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 1.5 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Waimea →
Questions about parks and trails in Waimea
Where can I hike in Waimea?
The longest trail networks: Kohala Forest Reserve, 1.3 miles; Waimea Nature Park (Ulu La'au), 0.6 miles; Waimea Park, 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?
16% 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?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Waimea Nature Park (Ulu La'au) (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Waimea?
34,154 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waimea or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,142 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waimea have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #60 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 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 →