I appeared in Kailua by way of a shuttle because I’d signed up for a SUP lesson there! I was the only one scheduled for SUP that day (hooray for a private lesson!), so when I mentioned I was planning on doing the Lanikai Pillboxes hike, they lent me a bike so that I could get there faster! (The people over at Kailua Beach Adventures are awesome-sauce!)
…They also lent me snorkel equipment because Lanikai Beach was awesome for that, and pushed my SUP lesson to around noon/scheduled me for the later bus so I’d have time to do everything. (yusoawesome!?)
Here’s the bike I borrowed!
I trekked up a paved road to come across this sign!
The Lanikai Pillboxes hike is also known as the Ka’iwa Ridge Trail! You can finish the hike in an hour if you don’t get lost/wander off a path that’s not actually a path. (In my defense, I wasn’t the only one who did this.)
Distance: 1.6 miles
Elevation: ~587′
Trailhead Location: At the end of Ka’elepupu Drive, directly across from the Mid-Pacific Country Club!
Difficulty: Moderate (only because of the initial climb–lots of kids climb this!)
Parking: There’s a bike rack and a couple spots for cars near the gate by the country club, but most people just park on the street and hike up to the starting point!
Most of the hike is a fairly gradual incline, but the initial climb is pretty steep and I imagine it can get kinda slippery if it’s muddy. I was glad I was wearing my hiking boots, because the traction was definitely helpful in the loose gravel!
The hike takes 60-90 minutes, depending on how far you trek. If you don’t stop every couple feet to take pictures, you should be able to reach the first military pillbox bunker (a remnant from WWII) in about half an hour!
You can kindasorta see the first pillbox up at the top of that hill!
This trail offers a really great view of the Mokulua Islands (Moku Nui is on the left and Moku Iki is on the right), as well as Lanikai Beach and Kailua Beach! :]
There are no facilities here, so make sure you take care of business before you go! There also isn’t all that much shade, so water, sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses would be a good idea. Light snacks wouldn’t hurt either, because the pillboxes are the perfect place to sit down and refuel. Just make sure you don’t litter!
It was somewhat windy up there, haha.
You can see the second pillbox off in the distance!
I’d really love to come back here someday and climb it to watch the sunrise or sunset! <3
Here’s Lanikai Beach, just for kicks! <3
- Would you rather do a sunrise hike or a sunset hike?
- Have you ever accidentally veered off course on a trail?
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I was kind of hoping that you had SUP’d there rather than shuttled ;D What is a pillbox??
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hahaha, I hadn’t learned how yet so it might have been disastrous! :P [Military] pillboxes are guard posts equipped with holes in em’ to fire weapons! :O I think they named em’ that because they look kindasorta(?) similar to the boxes people used to store their meds in.
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
What a beautiful hike! I love your pix. You make me want to go back. We hiked up Diamond Head and saw breathtaking views of Waikiki plus we had the best view from our hotel room. I enjoy sunrise hikes more because I love the peaceful sound and air in the early morning.
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It’s gorgeous there! I’m usually not a morning person but I woke up every day around 5-6 when I was over there just so I could see more! I love how peaceful it is in the morning too!
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
What a gorgeous hike!!! I didn’t do that one. Love the views.
I’ve done a sunset hike, but not sunrise. But I did drive to see the sunrise at Haleakala, which was spectacular.
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Sunset hikes are gorgeous! <3!
I read about that and wanted to go, but it was a tad too far on foot! ;P Maybe next time! *-*
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
OMF OMF OMF! I WAS LEGIT JUST THERE LAST WEEK!!! AND DID THAT HIKE! HAHAHAHAH! I have the SAME pictures!!
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<3 Yayyy! Great minds think alike! ;P
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
That bike is adorable! I can’t believe they let you borrow it; I love when business goes above and beyond for people, it warms my heart. I’ve also been guilty of wandering off of hiking trails. Sometimes trails aren’t well marked and sometimes I get distracted lol. What a fantastic view! I have to do this hike when I come to Hawaii
Right?! I was so happy! I’m definitely hoping to go back someday and would love to go kayaking with them! It was a ton of fun out there! I hope you get a chance to go sometime! <3
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
Everything about Hawaii just looks so dang pretty. I have veered off of trails when hiking a few times. Only one was extremely unsuccessful and we (my mom and I) ended up getting lost. Luckily we eventually just went straight through the woods (no trail) to get back to the main road! Haha.
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Isn’t it!? I wanna go back and explore more! (To be real, I want to move there, but we’ll see if that ever gets to happen, haha.)
I’m glad you didn’t get completely lost! I actually started to get a little worried when I was on this one and couldn’t figure out where the hecks I had come from/how to get back to wherever it was I’d started, hahaha.
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
Ahhhhhhh! What a gorgeous view!
I really need to visit Hawaii… really reaallyyyy reaaaaallly need :P
And as for trails… I am terrible at veering off course to look at things and whilst I always find my way back, Jesse ALWAYS thinks we’re lost :P
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If I ever get to move there, come visit meeee! :]
hahaha, what matters is the experience, right!? :P I like veering off to see things too–yay for finding the way back!
Farrah recently posted…Lanikai Pillboxes Hike
What an incredible view from way up there! The island where we live has WWII-era bunkers in the jungle on the sides of the hills, too. We stumbled across one a couple months ago when hiking a trail we’d never done before.
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That view was definitely amazing! :]! I’d love to go back and make it to the other two pillboxes they had out there someday! :P A hike through the jungle sounds like it’d be a lot of fun!
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