Little Bird Blog
Off The Beaten Path
Kaena Point is the westernmost tip of Oahu and one of the last undeveloped stretches of coastline on the island. The hike follows an old railroad bed along the coast to a Natural Area Reserve where Laysan albatross nest, Hawaiian monk seals haul out on the rocks, and native coastal plants grow without competition from […]
Koko Crater Botanical Garden is a free, 2-mile loop trail inside a volcanic crater on the southeastern end of Oahu, about 25 minutes from Waikiki. It’s one of five botanical gardens managed by the City and County of Honolulu, open daily from 9am to 4pm. The dry, bowl-shaped microclimate makes it unlike anywhere else on […]
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The Maunawili Demonstration Trail is a point-to-point trail on Oahu’s windward side that follows the base of the Koolau Mountains from the Pali Highway to Waimanalo, about 9 miles one way. It passes through dense rainforest, bamboo groves, and stream crossings, with sweeping views of the windward coast opening up along the way. You don’t […]
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Maunawili Falls is a waterfall hike on the windward side of Oahu, about 30 minutes from Waikiki. The trail winds through dense rainforest dripping with vines, crosses several streams, and ends at a tiered waterfall with a cool pool at the base. It’s muddy, it’s lush, and it’s one of the better family hikes on […]
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Electric Beach sits on Oahu’s leeward coast near the Hawaii Electric power plant, about 45 minutes from Waikiki. The warm water discharge from the plant attracts a remarkable diversity of marine life: sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, eels, octopus, reef fish, and the occasional spinner dolphin. The water is impossibly blue, the coral gets better […]
Flat Island, known in Hawaiian as Popoiʻa, is a small offshore islet about a half mile paddle from Kailua Beach Park on Oahuʼs windward coast. At low tide you can land on a narrow sandy beach, walk the limestone perimeter, and watch wedge-tailed shearwaters and Bulwerʼs petrels going about their business overhead. Sea turtles forage […]
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Makua Beach sits on the leeward coast of Oahu, backed by the steep green cliffs of the Waianae Mountains. It’s a long, exposed stretch of sand with powerful surf, a tidal shelf at the northern end that’s excellent for tide pooling at low tide, and spinner dolphins offshore on a good evening. There are no […]
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The Kaneohe Sandbar is a submerged sandbank in the middle of Kaneohe Bay on Oahu’s windward coast, about 45 minutes from Waikiki. At low tide it emerges from the water as a shallow, sandy stretch surrounded by every shade of blue and a full panorama of the Koolau Mountains. You can’t walk to it or […]
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The Ka Iwi Shoreline Trail runs along Oahu’s dramatic southeastern coast, through one of the last stretches of native coastal habitat on the island. This section, accessed from the Kaloko end near Sandy Beach, is quieter and wilder than the Makapuu Lighthouse side. The coastline is raw lava rock and reef, the wind is real, […]
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Alan Davis Beach sits at the end of a short dirt trail off the Makapuu Lighthouse trailhead, about 10 minutes from the parking lot on the southeastern tip of Oahu. The beach is tucked into a small rocky inlet, protected and shallow, with tidepools, basalt sand, and enough to explore that kids lose track of […]
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The Makapuu tide pools sit at the base of dramatic sea cliffs on the southeastern tip of Oahu, reached by a steep, rocky descent off the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail. They’re not a beginner detour — the trail is loose and uneven and the pools are dangerous when surf is up. But when conditions are right, […]
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