Kuli'ou'ou Valley Trail

Took doggo out for a hike this morning. I have done kuliouou ridge many times, but never the valley trail so thought we would check it out. Unfortunately, after about five minutes in, it gets to be a bit overgrown. Eventually I think we veered off the path, as we started heading up the mountainside on what was probably a pig or hunting trail. It was steep and the dry dirt was slippery. Then, all of the sudden, the trail disappeared. We turned around at this point and headed back to the fork and did half of the ridge hike instead. Won't be doing valley again. Nothing really interesting about it, not well maintained, didn't feel safe after I missed a turn and started the incline. Save your energy for the ridge.

The Kuliouou Valley Trail starts from the same spot at the Kuliouou Ridge Trail but there's not a whole lot to see and the trail ends after about 1 mile. Narrow, lots of vegetation, fallen trees, and oh yes, you have to deal with mosquitos as well. When it's rainy, the trail can be very muddy and slippery.

How many graduate degrees does it take to figure out which arrow is for which trail? Apparently four, which is one more than my friend and I have combined, hence why we went the wrong direction for the ridge hike. Luckily, the trail is short and both of us are fit enough to treat it like a warm up for the ridge trail and we were in and out in a little over twenty minutes. Was wondering why I didn't remember any part of this trail! There's virtually nothing to this hike aside from a few dry stream beds, lots of loose rocks, and plenty of mosquitoes. The trail itself is largely flat, easy, and devoid of people. As of 6/30/2018, there have been a sizable number of fallen branches and trees, which made the trail a bit more of an obstacle course, but nothing unmanageable. There were barely any flowers during the summer. The trail itself ends rather abruptly, as if the trail crew was like, "screw this we have better things to do," but someone has tagged a path beyond the state's "End of Trail" sign. As always, following unsanctioned trails is riskier than Department of Land and Natural Resources maintained trails. This trail might be worth hiking for taking long exposure river and stream photos during the wet winter season as you'll likely never have anyone come by to mess your photo up. But, there's a reason why this trail has virtually no reviews on Yelp and lackluster ones on AllTrails. Aside from parents looking for a sheltered hike for their little ones, hikers should take a pass.

There's a reason for there being 170+ reviews for the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail and zero reviews (until now) of the Kuli'ou'ou Valley Trail. Apathy. Both trails begin from the same spot (the end of Kala'au Place) and while the ridge trail goes up, up, up to beautiful vistas, the Valley Trail goes nowhere. Literally. It crawls along the valley floor for about one mile then just peters out to nothing. It's not that it couldn't have gone further but more like whoever blazed the trail just completely gave up. The guidebook I read from (Suzanne Swedy's "Hiking the Hawaiian Islands") described the end of the trail thusly: "After 1 mile of walking on good trail, you can cross to the other side of the stream... but beyond this the trail is not maintained and becomes a muddy brushy scramble". So there you are. The trail has a mild elevation change of 350 feet, is extremely easy, goes about 1 mile, and took me 60 minutes total to "hike". I'm of the opinion that the same people who forged the trail got 1 mile in before saying to themselves "nobody's ever going to go on this when that other great trail is right over there" and because they just stopped, nobody does. And nobody really needs to. If you have very young children, a very old dog, or just want a pleasant stroll through nature maybe give it a try. If you enjoy actually hiking though, just skip it.

Echoing what others have posted about this trail - it's just kinda meh ... as our first true "hike" (read unpacked trail), it was a good introduction to the general environment on what's supposed to be the more strenuous Ridge Trail hike. We went in late November after heavy rains in the days prior, and the trail had dried out somewhat so it wasn't too muddy but it was still pretty slippery - regular running shoes aren't going to cut it. Lots of leaves underfoot, with roots and lichen-covered rocks offering a treacherous path in some parts. That being said, the elevation was gentle and if you're into flora, you'll enjoy the variety of ferns, moss and flowers you encounter on the way. We didn't hear too many birds once we got further into the trail, which may account for the presence of mosquitoes in the deeper areas of the jungle. PS Don't forget to clean your boots at the beginning and end of your hike!

I tried the "pink ribbon" unofficial extended hike. I took it because I was feeling adventurous today. Anyone who takes this guaranteed will not complain about this trail being too easy or boring. Not a maintained trail but challenging. Lots of fun but not for the light of heart. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a family hike. I'd recommend it to regular hikers. I'd only recommend the whole hike to people well-equipped for it. Wear hiking boots and long pants. Wear bug spray and don't wear your favorite shoes. If you're alone, bring a compass and be careful. It's probably best to not go alone. The trail doesn't stay along the stream; it curves away from it. You can always grab a stick if you need one. No, please DO grab one and keep it in front of you. Unless you like spiderwebs. I ran into a few. I didn't finish but I was already over 1 hr into my hike and I didn't have all day, only the morning. Plus I was alone. It does extend the trail quite a bit so you won't be disappointed. It will also take you to where there is water in the streambed. And frogs too! Look for where the water is clearer. I'd suggest only following the pink ribbons so far if you only want to take a look at the frogs. Maybe stop at the big tree with the hearts on it. Soon after the hike curves away from the streambed and that's where the hike gets steeper and more difficult. And also less used. Some ribbons are faded and muddied. I found one ribbon that had snapped off. Some were harder to find so I had to backtrack a few times to find the trail again. Sometimes I went off of the scratches and x's other hikers left on the big trees. I stopped at where you have to climb over the fallen big tree with the pink ribbon on it (see pics) PS It'd be awesome if someone took the whole hike and posted how long it is.

I kind of find these reviews misleading, after the pleasant little stroll, it turns into a where-the-hell-is-the-trail and attempts at trying to find trees that are marked with pink or orange flags. I did it while wearing the baby on my back with my partner. Towards the end of the trail it turns into grabbing onto roots or anything you can to keep from slipping and falling into the rock bed. Several spots are extremely narrow and unforgiving. Using trees roots or anything to pull yourself up. It's not easy near the end by any means, the rain made it fun and even more challenging. There isn't a real satisfaction near the end like a water fall or anything. Just a dead end and the adrenaline of trying not to break your leg or ankle getting back.

This was a great walk for my family. My 4 year old son walked and I carried my daughter in our kid carrier. Nice easy walk. No Vistas but beautiful forest and some birds. I'd say it's a great way to get children out and exposed to short hikes other than paved trails.