- Now when you get to the final viewpoint at the top,
you get the best views of the lighthouse right down there.
Built in 1909,
that's what this trail was built for.
And it's the first lighthouse in Oahu
where people actually lived up on top of this hill.
In this video, I'm gonna tell you
everything you need to know if you're doing this hike.
And first things first, getting here.
It's on the most southern tip of Oahu.
You'll park in this parking lot.
Parking is free.
It does get busy if it's full.
You can park on the street and then head up the trail.
We just turn this way.
It's a fully paved trail all the way to the top.
Takes about 30 minutes to get to the top.
Let's take a look at what it's like to head up there.
Now, just a few feet after the parking lot,
you're gonna be presented a choice:
up the hill that takes you to the lighthouse,
down the hill on this unimproved path
takes you to the shoreline.
The main hike is this way.
By the way, I forgot to introduce my cohost.
This is the traveling princess.
And whenever we hike with this backpack carrier on,
people always make some interesting comments.
We hiked Diamond Head just the other day and people said,
"Do you want us to call 911 for you now?"
But someone just passed us on this trail and they said,
"Oh, I still wanna trade places with that little girl.
Looks pretty nice."
But actually on this trail,
if you don't have a backpack here, it's okay.
You could totally bring a stroller up it.
It is that well paved.
Definitely dress cool and bring plenty of water
because this is the driest, hottest part of the island.
If you thought you hiked Diamond Head and that was easy,
it's gonna be hotter when you come here.
Today might not be super representative because
it's actually fairly windy today.
But when the wind stops,
we've noticed it gets quite hot.
Now, this trail was originally built in 1909 by the military
as a mule or donkey trail to carry their supplies
to the top of the mountain.
With the traveling princess on my back,
I feel like a little bit of a human donkey.
After about 10 Or 15 minutes of just walking straight up,
you'll get to your first viewpoint
where you can learn a little bit about
the history of the area.
I'll leave reading those signs for you.
But then the main path bends over to the left.
But now if you're looking to get some of the best views,
actually head just down this unimproved path
from the lookout point and look over that way
because you can see the whole coastline that way,
and you can see the Koko Head crater
which is probably the third most popular hiking trail
right up that one.
It goes up an old like railroad trestle.
That one is only for the true brave of heart and fit.
So the second major lookout point,
there's a sign here that says,
"Across the channel on a clear day, you can see Maui."
What do you think princess?
Can you see it?
And if I squint really hard,
I can see something over there that looks like a landmass.
I'll take their word for it that that's Maui.
There's a third viewpoint
that has a sign about humpback whales.
Apparently you can see them on days when they're here.
There's some telescopes that you can use.
They don't cost any money for distant viewing.
And then right here with the sign that says area closed,
this is a path down to some tide pools
and also blow hole that breaks on really good days.
This is probably one of those
hike at your own risk kind of trails.
Did I mention it's a windy day here?
You probably have a hard time hearing me,
but here the wind is really strong
right above those tide pools.
Probably a good idea not to wear a sail
if you're doing this hike.
And just before the main lookout,
there's another fork in the road.
The right fork will take you...
It's just a little random building here on the side.
It looks like a bathroom, but it's not.
There are no bathrooms on this trail.
Use the bathroom before you come.
And just below the main lookout,
there's a sublookout as I call it.
And this is where you'll get some peek views
of the lighthouse right there.
There's a sidewalk that you can see that walks up to it.
That's a private sidewalk,
not for us mere mortals.
And if you look down from this lookout,
it's a long way down.
So, make sure to hold on your camera if you're doing that.
Finally, we are here.
The final lookout complex.
There's two lookouts here.
This lookout looks at the Eastern coast of Oahu.
There's like the Sea Life Amusement Park down there,
there's Chinaman's Hat.
Way off in the distance,
but you can't see it on the north part of the east side
is the Polynesian Cultural Center.
This is the less populated side of Oahu.
And this is a really neat and amazing view.
Looking at these really tall, steep mountains
reminds me of scenes from Jurassic park.
So then, this staircase begins the final ascent
to the final observatory.
I know I said 30 minutes at the beginning for this hike,
it's a quarter mile up to the top.
It took us about 45 cause we were stopping
to take pictures and video.
When you get up here to this top viewpoint,
the first thing you're gonna wanna do
is you're gonna wanna high-five yourself
or whoever you're with.
So traveling princess, where's your hand?
Give me a high five.
You look at this way,
you'll see the Eastern coast of Oahu.
This is the coast that's rainy that we looked at earlier.
But you look out this way,
and you can see the trail from once you came.
But most importantly,
this is the lighthouse trail.
So if you look at it in that direction,
you'll see the best view of the Makapuʻu Lighthouse.
That's the first lighthouse built in 1909 in a while
where people actually lived up here
as part of that lighthouse.
Now, if this looks a little too hard for you,
you want an easier hike,
then you'll wanna check out Diamond Head.
You can check on my Diamond Head video right here.
Links are in the description below.
As usual, I won't say goodbye
'cause I'll see you over in that video.
And so will she.