Moanalua Valley Saddle Hike - Oahu, Hawaii

The Moanalua Valley Saddle trail is a two-hour, three mile hike to a low point on the Ko’olau Mountains. Along the way, you’ll pass the Kamananui stream more than 20 times and go from a flat, easy gravel road with education stops along the way, ending at a narrow ridgeline trail and a lookout of the H-3 as it winds into the Haiku Valley and Kaneohe areas. It’s a great intermediate hike on Oahu, and if you are daring enough, then you can continue up the ridgeline and connect it with the Stairway to Heaven Hike.

Location:

The Moanalua Valley Trail starts at the park at the end of Ala Aolani St. You’ll want to park on the sidewalk outside the gates, as it’s a better option then leaving the car in the lot the whole day. From there it is a easy hike along a gravel road till you reach the end of the sanctioned trail. You’ll want to take the left fork at this sign, which should be fairly deep in the valley but not high on the elevation, and start making your way up a narrowing ridge.

I did this hike back in 2015 during a summer break in college. We continued all the way to the saddle, and then continued to the top of Stairway to Heaven by the end of the afternoon. I don’t recommend taking this route to the stairway as it is one of the most dangerous hikes I’ve done on the island. This saddle trail though is one of the better ridgelines to summit and has an epic view of the Kaneohe area and H-3. Here are the photos below.