Mt. Olomana Trail (Three Peaks) — Attraction in Oʻahu

Jan 2023 Olomana Ridge complete review!

Nutshell: This is a increasingly steep climb, a real leg burner workout to get to the top, but views are incredible if you can get past last 200 feet of exposure at end.

Parking: You need to walk 3/4 of a mile to get to the trailhead. Thats a fact. No closer parking, or you will get towed. I parked on the side of the road by the Anglican Church on Auola Rd (opposite the bus stop). Lock vehicle, and hide or take valuables with you, area is known for crooks breaking windows if they see something they want.

Walk to Loop Road, and its goes into the Golf Club. Ignore all the "no trespassing" signs, you are allowed to walk this route to get to the trailhead. Go past the gate and booth, and trailhead will be on your left. Cant miss it. Has a sign that talks about all the people that died there (see sign in my pics).

Bring water, you will need it I went through about a liter in my camelback (recommended, since you need both hands for this climb)!

Hike is very shaded, and starts off easy and gradually getting harder. Starts with many exposed roots and rocks. Graduates to a soft pine needle trial, and then red clay trail, and then rocky trail, and eventually just rock!

I'm a 40 year old, slightly above average fitness level, and it was still a leg burner. I was clipping along at a pretty quick pace, and it took me about 50 minutes from car to get to peak #1. I spent 10 minutes on the last 200 feet, due to exposure.

You can't really get lost, there are no signs on trail, but it is very well traveled. I started at 7:30am, and had maybe 5 people in front of me, and passed about 10 people going up, whilst on the way down

There are some sections near the very top that hikers have placed ropes to help you ascend and descend, I did not need to use the ropes, but they would have made it easier. Test ropes first, never blindly trust a used rope!

Very limited exposure until you start reaching the top. Then you definitely will have exposure to the open cliff side, knife edges walking on the ridge, wind, etc.

Peak #1 is where most people stop, and continuing on means descending down trail #2 which is harder, and #3 is harder yet, though I did not personally try these ones. I felt the view from #1 was perfect, and didn't want to risk an accident

I am not a fan of exposure, and really was testing myself on purpose doing this hike. I am so glad I did. Totally worth it. The view from peak #1 is awesome. I sat up top by myself for 30 minutes enjoying God's handiwork, and also the helicopter tours going just over my head. I think they enjoyed waving at me and me waving back. If a helo tours fly by you when hiking, you know you are in a beautiful spot

I tried to post pics during the hike, some landmarks, and sights you should know, so you can get an idea of what its like to decide if this is for you. No pets, and I would not recommend this for children, especially the crest of peak #1. Its not as bad as some other reviewers are making this sound. Go for it!

Hope this helps anyone thinking...

I hiked to the 1st peak at sunrise on July 29, 2025. What a great view at the peak. I did quite some research before I went. Everything went well due to my research, so I like to share what I learned to all future 1st time visitors as you may also have many same questions that I had before I went. First, there is no parking at the actual trail head. It is actually inside a golf course. There are some road side parking spaces at a residence area about 0.8 miles away from the trail head. Search Three Peaks Trailhead in Google map then you will find the location. There is a narrow band of gravel walk path right next to the street. Make sure NOT to park on the gravel or even touch part of it. Park further on the grass. There are sign marked on the pole about this. As long as you follow the sign and warning carefully, you will be fine. From the parking spot you can walk along a driveway for 0.8 miles to the real trail head. There you will see the warning sign of how many hikers accidentally fell to death in the past 10 years. All happened between 2nd and 3rd peaks. I did see people hiked those two peaks in their youtube videos. They are mostly young couples who are obviously experienced in climbing. So I also do not recommend hiking beyond the 1st peak. In the end, the 1st peak is the highest and has the best view anyway. Regarding hiking to the 1st peak, it is not easy and part of it maybe even scary, but it is doable even for someone who is not very experienced in climbing. The requirement is that you need to be fit. If you can do 20 pushup without feeling terrible, I think you will be able to hike the 1st peak. When I did my research, nobody mentioned how hard it is to climb down on the way back. While I climbed up, I debated for a few minutes if I should turn around while I faced the last few vertical climb. I thought it could be much harder to climb down as I will not be able to see where to land my feet and hand at each step. It came out that is not an issue at all. Climbing down is much easier than climbing up. First, climbing up gained quite a lot of confidence. Second, after climbing up, I pretty much know the condition of the ropes, so I have much more confidence in using the rope to sustain part of my body weight so that I can almost pick any spot to land my feet. While climbing up, I do not recommend to rely on the rope as it is not maintained. I only used it as a backup in case I slip. The first time I drove to the trail It was raining hard at night so I passed and went to another location. The following day I went again. It also rained but not as hard. The trail was not too muddy and slippery, so it is not too bad. Still you definitely want to wear a good hiking shoes with great traction. Once I reached the 1st peak, the sun just came out of the cloud after sunrise. I had the full view to myself. It was really amazing. It took me about an hour to hike from the parking spot to the 1st peak...

Awesome hike with breathtaking views! I'm a fit person in my twenties without much hiking or climbing experience, but was able to do it without any problems. My dad (50+) could keep up with me all the way, but wasn't able to make the last and most challenging hike up the rock because he couldn't bend his knee as much as needed, but all other people we met along the way made it. It was the only really challenging climb, the rest of the trail was often steep, but totally doable, even for unexperienced hikers like us.

We went quite fast and needed about 70 minutes upwards and 60 minutes downwards for the first peak. The second peak wasn't far from the first, but as i encountered heavy rain showers while being right at the top, I decided to not go for the second as others said it would be very slippery now. It wouldn't have been challenging though as the only really challenging climb was the last one right before the first peak.

Some further advice: To reach the trailhead you need to enter the Royal Hawaiian Colf Club on Loop Road. On the gate there are signs saying "No trespassing" and there's a guard, but the guard's informed about people coming for the hike, so don't be afraid to pass. Don't park on Loop Road as it's on private property and a tow away zone. We parked on Alea Road on a grass side. Make sure to double check whether you're allowed to park! From there it's a 15 to 20 minute walk to the trailhead. The entire trip took us around 4 hours, including some time trying to figure out whether my dad would be able to climb the rock or not, waiting for the pouring rain to stop and some time on top for admiring the view and taking pictures.

Would definitely recommend this hike for almost everyone! If you don't feel comfortable in climbing or walking up steep and sometimes quite slippery paths or are afraid of heights, you probably shouldn't go. It's still totally doable for most people and worth the amazing views from the top! So glad I did it despite my worries if it...