Makiki Loop Trail - The trail head located at the Hawaii Nature Center. You drive up and they have an area that you can park your vehicle. As with all hikes in Hawaii - don't leave valuables in your vehicle. There are break-ins sometimes. I stuff my valuables in my glove compartment and go. The path for this hike is well maintained and marked. If you like reading about native plants and the history of this area, there are little information markers at the beginning. Before it became a reserve, it was a coffee plantation and you can still see some coffee plants along the trail. They have tried to weed out non-native and evasive species in this area.
As you hike along the trail, you will be able to see the downtown Honolulu skyline in the distance but for the most part will feel like you are in Nature. This is a pretty popular workout trail and will see alot of other hikers and runners. The first time I did this hike it was pretty dry, but the second time it was pretty muddy.
There was a flowering tree dropping pretty pink petels carpeting the forest floor.
Not sure if the pic above is man made or a natural phenomenon. But since it was the only tree I saw with this kind of cluster around the tree trunk, pretty sure it was man made.
There are multiple side trails you can go, I went with a friend a second time and we added another loop to the hike, for a longer workout.
View of Honolulu/Waikiki from the hike.
Since its a loop, at the beginning of the hike, you have a choice to go left or right. I suggest the left first, it has all the information signs at the beginning. If you go to the right, you will be going up a steep trail which is fun but when you loop back around, you probably won't want to read the signs. The left trail is a more gradual incline but both ways are fun
