Hiking Lanikai pillbox loop via Kaiwa Ridge, 8-22-2024

Summer is still left about one month but Koolau mountains have been wet and muddy. Looking at the weather map, the clouds were in Koolau mountain ranges but was clear in Kailua area. We decided to hike Lanikai pillbox and Kaiwa Ridge loop. I’ve hiked the trail about 4 times before. It was about 4.4 miles with 1176 ft elev gain. Trailhead is just pass the Mid-Pacific Country Club across the street on Kaelepulu Dr. It has a clear trailhead sign. There is no parking near the trailhead. I parked my car near the Kailua Boat Ramp which is about 0.65 miles away from trailhead !
Once you get to the trailhead, there is a clear trail sign between the houses. The steepest portion is the beginning of the trail: gains 335 ft elevation in 0.35 miles. From trailhead, you will get to pillbox #1 and #2 in 0.4 miles. From the Pillbox #2, most people turn around and go back. However, we continued along the Kaiwa Ridge and made a loop !
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[@magicman3100]

Heading to Oahu in November and this is one hike I'm looking to complete. How long did it take you to get to pillow 2 and to do the loop? Have you done the makapu'l lighthouse trail?

[@LivingTheDreaminHawaii]

It took us 50 min to get to the pillbox #2 and took 3 hrs 10 min to do the loop. Yes, we hiked the Makapuu lighthouse a few times via off trail. I have 2 videos. On my TH-cam channel, search for Makapuu. The regular trail for Makapuu lighthouse is paved. It is about 2.5 miles with 500 ft elev. The regular paved trail is a great family hike. You can also bike to the lighthouse !