We took so many pictures once we reached the end.

Parking & Trail Information

Parking is in the nearby Portlock neighborhood. The best street to park is Nawiliwili Street. The trailhead is going to be on Kalanianaole Highway. After parking, walk up Kalanianaole Highway towards Hanauma Bay until you reach a short white wall (it’s not that long of a walk, maybe 5 minutes,) and you’ll see a trail start to the right of the wall. You should pass 3 telephone poles before reaching the wall, and once you reach the “Begin centerline rumble strip” yellow sign, you’ve found the correct wall. This trail is pretty dusty here but just follow it up to the paved gravel road and take a right to continue following the gravel road. You’re going to follow this gravel road for a while before you come across a dirt road starting on the left hand side of the paved road. This is where it gets difficult because you’ll need to have solid footing going down the mountain or else you’ll trip. Follow this dirt trail down the rim of Hanauma Bay and follow it southeast. The trail will curve to the right once you get close to the end of the rim and you’ll have to climb down some cool rocks that lead to the rock bridge. It’s kind of difficult to spot but once you come across cute little rock formations that say “aloha” and “Go!” you know you’re in the right place. After you’ve enjoyed a quick photoshoot, head out the trail the same way you came in. Round-trip it took me about 3.5 hours because we struggled coming up the mountain; it can be pretty difficult when the sun is beating down on you.

I highly recommend taking at least 1 panoramic photo on this hike.

Tips & Recommendations

This trail can get very hot on a sunny day because there is no shade or breeze. It’s unlike the koko head arch trail in which there’s a lot of breeze so that the sun isn’t even a problem. The sun will definitely be a problem, hence I recommend doing this hike in the late afternoon, around 3 pm. It will be very helpful for you to wear sun protection like a baseball cap and sunscreen. It will be helpful if it’s overcast because then you’ll have even more sun protection.

I highly recommend taking at least 1 panoramic photo on this hike.

I wouldn’t label this hike as kid-friendly unless your child is a skilled hiker. This hike is definitely dog friendly.

There are so many of these cute rocks everywhere along the bridge.

Overall

The views once you get down to the rock bridge are amazing and if you do it in the winter time (like I did,) you have a good chance of seeing whales (like I did!) The hike doesn’t get that much traffic so it’s not packed, and that’s nice. However, this hike is technically on a state-owned road so you might be turned away for hiking this. However if you’re not, it’s definitely worth it because the views are amazing!