Hiking the Waihee Ridge Trail

Wow!

Where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area we are fortunate to have access to a tremendous amount and variety of hiking trails. We have wilderness areas, open space preserves, parks at the city, county and state level, etc.  I wouldn’t be surprised if our largest nearby state park – Henry Coe, with 200 miles of trails – had as many trails as all of Maui combined.

That said, quantity and quality are very different things. We have a lot of trails that are very beautiful in different ways, but I’m not sure we have any trails that are quite as stunning as Maui’s Waihee Ridge Trail.

This trail has it all. The surroundings change from grassy hillside to woods to tropical ferns and more. The trail itself changes from an early paved uphill section to grass to dirt, from wide to twisty single track to wooden steps. The variety is almost endless, which is pretty amazing for a short trail like this.

In addition, the views are equally as variable and staggering: the wide, deep blue of the Pacific, the distant city harbor, the large dual waterfalls, and the epic valley overlooks. The Waihee Ridge Trail has an embarrassing abundance of beauty. It’s even good exercise.

We loved this trail. Check it out.