Complete Guide to Hiking Old Pali Road: Trail Details, Parking Info, and More

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The first Pali Highway opened for carriages in 1898. For 61 years, horse- and mule-drawn wagons and, later, cars traversed 8800 feet of the Ko’olau Mountains on this steep road.

In 1959, the new Pali Highway, with its tunnels, opened, and Old Pali Road was closed to vehicle traffic.

For 66 years, the jungle has been eating away at the old highway. Roots bursting through the pavement, vines snaking over the railing, and mudslides narrowing some sections into little more than pig trails. Hiking it feels like walking through a post-apocalyptic landscape, like the ones presented on ‘The Last of Us‘ and ‘The Walking Dead‘.

Walking along Old Pali Road is an incredible experience, but it wasn’t as easy as I expected. Here’s what to really expect and what NOT to do when hiking Old Pali Road:

Old Pali Road Overview

Where: Kaneohe
Parking Fee: $15 ($10 for military)
Trail Length: 3.1 miles (round-trip)
Time to Complete: 2-3 hours
Elevation Gain: 1930 feet (according to All Trails)
Difficulty: intermediate/hard
Terrain: partially paved, slippery, jungle, mostly shaded
Must Bring: old shoes, bug spray, water (possibly a towel and shirt to change into if it’s raining)

Views from hiking on Old Pali Road. — *(Views of windward Oahu from Old Pali Road.)*

Where to Park

Parking is such a struggle on Oahu. I try to research parking options before we go anywhere, especially hikes.

Thankfully, this hike has a big parking lot at the trailhead. You can park at the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu/Ko’olau Golf Course. Apparently, the church has leased 240 acres of land for the golf course for years. (According to the internet, the golf course is closed, but the church is still open.) You can enter either business name into your GPS, and it will take you right to it!

However, easy and safe parking comes at a price. Parking is $15 or $10 for military/kama’aina.

There are several areas to park alongside Kionaole Road for free. And we passed several cars doing this. For me, it’s worth paying to park in the lot rather than trying to squeeze my big SUV into a tiny roadside space.

*(There is plenty of parking, and it seems to be a safe area.)*

How to Find the Trailhead

Plus, there is a very obvious trailhead in the parking lot.

There are a couple of trails you can access not only from Old Pali Road, but also from this exact parking lot.

You can also hike to Likeke Falls from this parking lot!

The beginning of the trail to Old Pali Road is at the back of the parking lot. While the trail to Likeke Falls is on the side of the parking lot. Don’t get them mixed up.

Old Pali Road Hike: the trailhead at the back of the parking lot at the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu. — *(This is the view facing the back of the parking lot.)*

The trailhead to the Old Pali Road hike at the back of the Ko'olau Golf Course parking lot. — *(The trail is pretty obvious when you get closer.)*

What to Expect

The first part of this hike was the muddiest.

It’s a steep climb down to Old Pali Road from this parking lot. I slipped and fell in the mud before our car was even out of view. It was pretty miserable coming back up to the parking lot too. But not impossible, just go slow and be very careful!

The beginning of the Old Pali Road hike is VERY muddy and slippery. — *(This was the muddiest, most slippery part of the whole hike.)*

Thankfully, after you reach the road, conditions are much better!

However, parts of the road are still very slick. My best advice is to walk slowly and carefully, especially on your way back down.

When you reach the road, you’ll head right, towards the bridge. Apparently, this bridge was built in 1919 (you’ll notice the dates are imprinted on the columns of all the bridges here in Hawaii).

Bridge on the Old Pali Road hike. — *(The bridge on Old Pali Road was built in 1919.)*

I’ve seen dozens of pictures online of this part of the hike. It gave me a false sense of confidence because I thought the whole hike was along a paved road.

While a lot of the hike is on a paved road, there are a few sections of dirt/mud. There are also sections where the road has been narrowed to little more than a pig trail due to landslides and jungle growth.

Hiking on Old Pali Road on Oahu. — *(I thought most of the hike would look like this.)*

Some of Old Pali Road has been overtaken by the jungle and there is only a small trail left. — *(But parts of the trail look like this, a narrow pig trail.)*

Also, there are so many reviews of this trail that call it ‘easy’ and ‘family-friendly’. And it I guess it can be, but keep in mind that you are gaining more than 1200 feet of elevation!

You are walking uphill the entire time!

Clearly, I am not in the best shape and I still did this hike. It’s not impossible. But make sure you bring water and stop for breaks along the way.

*(Stop along the way to take pictures and catch your breath!)*

The Trail Forks

In the research that I did before we headed out on the Old Pali Road hike, no one mentioned that the trail forked!

And we went the wrong way! (Of course, we did. I started this hike off with a fall. Why not go ahead and get a little lost?)

*(When we came to the locked gate, I turned on my All Trails map & figured out my mistake.)*

When you come to a fork in the road, GO RIGHT!

We went to the left. And if you’re wondering what is down there, I’ll save you the long walk. The road ends at a locked gate that goes back out onto Highway 61. I estimate that we went about a half mile off course. So, after we backtracked, we added an extra mile to our hike.

The fork in the Old Pali Road hike. Go to the right! — *(Take the little trail on the right!)*

*(The road opens up a little more past the little trail at the fork.)*

Hiking Old Pali Road to the Pali Lookout. — *(The road is more overgrown past the fork.)*

The Ladder

Fortunately, I did know about the ladder and the low overpass before we headed out on Old Pali Road. So, we were prepared for that part of the hike.

And it wasn’t bad at all. The ladder was wet and slippery because it had been raining. But we just took it slow and got up and down it just fine.

Climbing the ladder on the Old Pali Road hike. — *(Climbing a ladder you find in the jungle will never NOT be cool!)*

(Plus the ladder makes a cute photo op!)

However, it’s something to keep in mind if you are bringing your bike or a dog. You’ll have to carry it up and down the ladder. And the ladder will likely be wet and slippery.

Also, we’re pretty short. So, going under the overpass wasn’t bad for us. It might get a little uncomfortable for tall folks, but not impossible.

Hiking under the overpass on Old Pali Road. — *(It’s crazy to think that cars are driving just inches above your head.)*

Beautiful Views

Throughout the hike, you can expect beautiful views!

They’re not always obvious and they’ll take you by surprise when there’s a break in the foliage. Make sure you take the time to enjoy them.

I usually stop at viewpoints, not only to take in the view and snap a few pictures, but also to catch my breath.

Hiking on the Old Pali Highway has some great views of the ridges. — *(It blows my mind that people actually do these ridge hikes and live to tell about it!)*

Hiking on Old Pali Road. — *(It’s so hard to believe that this road was first built over 100 years ago!)*

Once you pass the bridge/overpass (pictured above), it’s not long until you reach the Pali Lookout! And by this point, we were very ready to reach the end of walking uphill!

For us, this hike was already kind of a mess. So, it only made sense that at this point the wind was picking up and pushing rain towards the mountains. But we had come this far and decided that we wouldn’t be turning around.

Rain moving in on the Ko'olau Mountain range on Oahu. — *(You could see the rain moving in on us!)*

(The clouds and rain moved in fast!)

We pushed on and it wasn’t long until we spotted chain link fence. That meant we made it! We were at the top!

The turnaround point for the Old Pali Road hike is the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. You’ll know you reached the lookout when you come to a locked metal gate and gorgeous view of windward Oahu.

The winds are always high at the lookout. According to the Division of State Parks, “Winds are usually so strong that one can lean against the wall of wind.”

*(When you spot the chain link fence, you are almost at the end!)*

The Old Pali Road hike ends at the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout. It is blocked off by a metal gate. — *(The turnaround point is a locked metal gate that blocks off the ‘official Pali Lookout’.)*

*(Three happy girls because we made it!!!)*

We didn’t spend too long at the top because we had to hurry back to the parking lot.

The gate of the parking lot closes at 6:00 pm. They charge you $100 if they have to come let you out!

So, we hurried back as quick as we could and made it JUST in time. We reached the car at 5:57!

To say that hiking Old Pali Road was an adventure is an understatement!

Despite all of the trouble we ran into, we still had a fun time. And honestly, I would do it again (on a sunny day).

I just wish I had known these things before we went. Especially, the what direction to take at the fork in the road. It would have saved us a lot of time and stress.

I hope this guide helps you be better prepared than we were!

Happy hiking, friends!