Manana Trail-Waimano Falls/Pool

Over the years, I've hiked or run many of Oahu's trails, but I realized I haven't kept track of which ones I've done and what they were like.  I'm trying to keep a log here and including some Strava data to help remind me.

I ran the Manana trail solo on Independence Day 2018.  I didn't do much research, so I didn't know that I'd have an option to go left to the ridge or right to the Waimano Falls hike.

I decided to go right to the falls first.  That route was really rocky and not good for running.  I actually ended up off the trail to the falls and never did find it.  Instead, I found myself at the stream, which was not quite as glamorous as the falls but very pretty and relaxing (see photo below).

As pretty as the scenery was by the stream, I was still itching for a decent run and felt unsatisfied.  I decided to head back up to the fork then run the ridge trail for a bit.

Once I got onto the Manana trail, I realized that was the trail I was in the mood for.  There were a lot of ups and downs but great mountain views on either side.  In one section, I imagined someone with a fear of heights and subpar balance might freak out a bit, but I loved it.  There were also sections of some climbing up and down larger rocks.  It broke up the running sections quite a bit, but I suppose it was good cross training.

I ended up going only 2.3 miles out on the Manana Trail.  If I hadn't taken the Waimano Falls detour, I think I would've done a 6 mile roundtrip run.