Hundreds hike Manoa Falls Trail on reopening day

After being closed for two years, the popular Manoa Falls Trail reopened Saturday to throngs of hikers.

By noon, some 500 people had walked the family- friendly, 0.8-mile trail that leads to a viewing area of the 150-foot waterfall, according to Napua Wong, whose family owns the parking lot at the trailhead. That number had more than doubled by the end of the day, she said, and about half were local residents.

“Summertime is always busy, so that’s to be expected,” said Wong, who was directing traffic while keeping a headcount of hikers. “The most surprising thing is the locals coming up. … Today in particular, people have been curious about what the trail looks like.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manoa Falls Trail attracted 700 to 1,000 people a day, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which said the path had become “an eroding, slippery, muddy mess” due to the 160 to 170 inches of rain that falls in the lush valley annually.

The trail was closed in July 2019 after being identified as hazardous to hikers. A rockfall hazard mitigation fence was installed next to the falls and the state’s Na Ala Hele Trail and Access Program undertook additional improvements that included stabilizing and widening the trail for two-way traffic, new steps, trailside plantings, erosion and water runoff control measures, and new rest areas with benches and interpretive signs.

The improvements cost a total of $188,000, DLNR said, with funding from the Federal Highways Administration Recreational Trails Program, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority contributing $68,000. The trail reopening coincided with National Trails Day.

Ewa Beach resident Kristyll Viernes was waiting at the parking lot Saturday morning with her children while her husband found parking on Manoa Road.

“We haven’t gone hiking in a long time, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to come out with the kids,” Viernes said.

Aaron Lowe, Oahu trails and access specialist for Na Ala Hele, which is part of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, was sitting at a truck at the start of the trail, advising hikers not to go past the viewing area to get to the falls.

“That’s a big talking point. We’re trying to get people from going down to the water itself,” Lowe said.

The trail has been diverted around an arch formation made by two trees about halfway to the falls that used to cause a logjam because hikers would stop to take photos, Lowe said. Now it’s a separate stop that doesn’t interrupt the flow of foot traffic.

The viewing area at the falls was packed at all times by dozens of people and there were steady lines in both directions on the trail as hikers made their way to and from the falls.

Chris Brasile, who lives in Pittsburgh and is visiting Hawaii until the end of June, walked up the trail with his girlfriend and a friend.

“It’s really beautiful. I really like the jungle hikes where there’s a lot more shade,” he said. “(It was) a little crowded. Day One, obviously, so a decent amount of people are out.”

There is no fee for hiking the Manoa Falls Trail; tour operators are charged $5 per head. Parking at the private lot is $7, or $4 for kamaaina and military.