Crouching Lion Trail

NOTE: as of April 2021, this trail is closed indefinitely. Please do not attempt to hike on closed trails. 

This trail is not for the faint of heart or those easily scared of heights. The crouching lion trail is a 4 mile loop with an elevation gain of 2,000 feet. The elevation gains and losses are near the beginning and the end of the trail. The middle of the trail is where the dangerous knife-like ridges are. To get there, travel 25 miles on the drive from downtown Honolulu. Take the Pali Highway to get to the windward side of Oahu. Once you are through the Pali Tunnels, descend downhill, turning left on Kamehameha Hwy. About 2.5 miles later, turn left onto Likelike Highway. Turn right onto Kahekili Highway, which after 4.5 miles transitions to Kamehameha Highway (key landmarks there are a 7-11 store on the right and the Hygienic Store on the left). Continue on Kamehameha Hwy. for just short of 10 miles. Parking is available at the Swanzy Beach Park. Walk north up Huamalani Rd to the trailhead. The trail is between two properties and there is no reason to go up anyones driveway looking for the trail. After this, the trail is sometimes hard to follow but there are usually pink ribbons tied to trees to help with directions.

The trail follows the Pu’u Manamana ridge on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The full loop is called the Kahekili-Manamana loop. It took us about 5 hours to complete. The trail is difficult to find in places, and very overgrown. Multiple times we were basically crawling through the mud in order to get under the heavy overgrowth. I know that at least a few hikers who have tried to hike this have died, so make sure you stay focused while hiking this trail and watch where you are placing your feet. It can also be very muddy in spots which makes for a very difficult time.