INTRODUCING OAHU 8 GETTING AROUND OAHU 12 MASTER MAP OF OAHU 13. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 14 Key to reading trailhead descriptions

Transcription

1 Lanikai Beach OAHU TRAILBLAZER is dedicated to the beauty of land and the sea and to all the people working with aloha in their hearts toward a vision of a new Hawaii.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCING OAHU 8 GETTING AROUND OAHU 12 MASTER MAP OF OAHU 13 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 14 Key to reading trailhead descriptions BEST OF Attractions 17, Hikes 18, Snorkeling 20, Surfing 21 What do you want to do today? An index of where you can go to do it TRAILHEAD DIRECTORY 22 A list of all trailheads with recreational opportunities and page numbers TRAILHEAD PREVIEWS, MAPS, and DESCRIPTIONS HONOLULU Trailheads WINDWARD PALI Trailheads NORTH SHORE Trailheads WEST SIDE Trailheads TRAILBLAZER KIDS 214 FREE ADVICE & OPINION Disclaimer 219 Hiking, Snorkeling, Surfing 220 Driving Around 222 Strategies for Visiting Oahu 226 Packlist, Surfin da Web 228 Knowing Oahu After Three Dates 229

3 RESOURCE LINKS Museums & Historic Buildings, Attractions 232 Gardens and Arboretums 233 Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, Shops and Galleries 234 Hiking and Camping Permits, Clubs 235 Camping and Rustic Accommodations 236 Adventure Tours, Bike Rentals, Sport Shops 238 Visitor Information, Supplemental Maps 239 Transportation 240 WHERE TO STAY 243 Resorts, Hotels, B&Bs WHERE TO EAT 246 HAWAIIAN GLOSSARY 249 INDEX 250 YOUR NOTES 255 ABOUT DIAMOND VALLEY COMPANY 256 MAPS Master map of Oahu 13 Map 1, Honolulu, Trailheads Downtown Honolulu 36 Waikiki 44 Map 2, Windward Pali, Trailheads Map 3, North Shore, Trailheads Map 4, West Side, Trailheads

4 Niihau KAUAI OAHU MOLOKAI LANAI MAUI KAHOOLAWE HAWAII Polynesian Cultural Center INTRODUCING OAHU Most of the five million people who each year jet into Honolulu seek the dream of swaying palms and beachside reverie, of moonlit- and rumenhanced bliss one week inside a bubble of pleasure at Waikiki, perhaps taking guided outings to Oahu s headline attractions. For them, Oahu is a fantasy escape, a Las Vegas minus the slots, plus the surf and sand. A second group of visitors are independent adventurers who want to get outside the bubble and see an Oahu of surprises and intrigue beyond the brochure headlines. Then there s a third group. They are also independent and get outside the tourist bubble, but then it bursts, leaving them lost in traffic, waiting in lines, annoyed, sweaty, hassled, disappointed, weeping hysterically, and wishing they d stayed home. Oahu Trailblazer is for the independent adventurers wanting to graduate to group number two, those who want shed the cowbells to be free of the tourist bubble, but avoid donning the shackles should the bubble burst. Most of those five million have chosen Oahu, rather than a neighbor island, because it has the cheapest vacation packages and the most available rooms. Some newcomers may not be aware that Hawaii is made up of islands with 8 introducing oahu

5 differing personalities. Only later do these oblivious visitors realize that they ve joined a legion of Hawaiian aficionados who have seen all the islands and keep coming back to the Gathering Place for a host of very good reasons. Many of Oahu s charms are expected. It does have the glimmering entertainment and nightlife, a wealth of restaurants, most of the state s top museums, and one of the world s most dynamic walk-around cities with a bustling Chinatown. Add to that some of Hawaii s top attractions the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Polynesian Cultural Center, and Diamond Head among them. At Hanauma Bay, nature has carved a perfect undersea park the most popular in the world but snorkelers can also fnd the beach of their dreams at several out-of-the-way spots on the Windward Coast and pocketed into the North Shore. Oahu s other charms are more surprising. Most of the island s 112-mile coastline is sandy beach, more than any other island, including the Big Island, which is seven times larger in area. Beachcombers can kick off their shoes and go, go, go. And, although surfing originated in Hawaii and it is big on all the islands, Oahu is the wave-riding capitol of the universe. Along that sand-andcoral coastline are more than 150 named wave breaks, from the 50-footers to the little rollers, from Waikiki to the big-time surf on the North Shore at Waimea Bay and the Banzai Pipeline. Beaches like Sandy and Makaha, unknown to most visitors, also attract surfers from all points on the globe. Kualoa Regional Park introducing oahu 9

6 Yokohama Beach Just as surprising are the opportunities for land-lovers, who can lace up the boots at more designated public trailheads than on any other island. Many of the trails are within the Honolulu metro area, and hikers will not be wanting for rain forests, waterfalls, and ridges with a view. Visitors may be surprised to see the rural life outside of metro Honolulu, where a series of county and state parks present hikers with an array of trails that will turn a day into an adventure. For nature fans wishing to stroll rather than sweat, Oahu also delivers. The island has five botanical gardens including Foster, which is downtown; huge Ho omaluhia underneath the towering pali; and Koko Crater, a primordial world unto itself. Throw in spectacular Waimea Valley Audubon Center and resplendent Lyon Arboretum in Manoa Valley, and you ve got a lineup that argues for Oahu to be tops in the state. Oahu also is quite fetching as pure eye-candy, which, again, is surprising for an island that has freeways and high-rises, more than 80 percent of the state s million-plus residents, and gets more tourists than the other islands combined. Only Oahu has glamorous Waikiki and Diamond Head, a skyline as recognizable as New York, Paris, or San Francisco. Oahu has the Windward Coast with the rippling green wall of the Ko olau Range, through which drivers penetrate on the space-aged H-3 freeway and off which are a string of seabird islands and jagged spur ridges that evoke the romance of the South Seas. In the Valley of the Temples, even agnostics can find religion. And Oahu has a second range, the Waianaes, with mountainous valleys that fall to wild seascapes and long beaches. 10 introducing oahu

7 So, even visitors who get here by throwing a dart at a map will have made a smart choice. For those already in love with Hawaii, the love will not be complete until they ve come to Oahu. Yes, Hawaii stalkers, Oahu will complete you. Makiki Forest Reserve, Royal Hawaiian, Banzai Pipeline introducing oahu 11