Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [58]
While home to some great waves, O′ahu’s Wai′anae Coast has even more turf issues; the locals who live and surf here cherish this area and are trying to hold onto its last vestiges of Hawaiian culture and community. In the winter, large west swells can make for big surf at places like Makaha Beach Park (Click here), but tread lightly: the locals know each other here, so there will be no question that you’re from out of town.
If you’re looking for a multipurpose wave, Diamond Head Beach (Click here) is friendly to short-boarders, longboarders, windsurfers and kitesurfers. For a good day of bodysurfing, Sandy Beach (Click here) and Makapu‘u Beach (Click here) on the island’s southeast shore are ideal. If you go out here, do so with caution: the pounding waves and shallow bottom have caused some serious neck and back injuries.
For surf reports, the Surf News Network (596-7873; www.surfnewsnetwork.com) runs a recorded surf-condition telephone line that reports winds, wave heights and tide information.
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Only a few of O′ahu’s forest-reserve hiking trails are open to mountain bikers.
Popular coastal rides include Ka′ena Point (Click here) and the nearby Kealia and Kuaokala Trails (Click here). Interior rides in the Ko′olau Mountains include the Maunawili Trail Network (Click here), which connects the Pali Hwy with the coast; the ′Aiea Loop Trail (Click here) and Waimano Trail (Click here) near Pearl Harbor; and the Kuli′ou′ou Ridge Trail (Click here) outside Hawai′i Kai.
GOLF
The City and County of Honolulu, which encompasses all of O′ahu, maintains six municipal golf courses (733-7386, reservations 296-2000; www.honolulu.gov/des/golf/golf.htm; 9-/18-hole visitor green fees $21/42, incl cart rental $29/58). Tee-time reservations for out-of-state visitors are accepted up to three days in advance, starting at 6:30am. The island’s most popular municipal courses include Waikiki’s Ala Wai Golf Course (Click here) and Kane′ohe’s Pali Golf Course (Click here) on the Windward Coast.
On the Wai′anae Coast, Ko Olina Golf Club at the Ko Olina Resort (Click here) was Golf Digest’s pick as one of the USA’s top 75 resort courses; it’s hosted the LPGA Tour and senior PGA Tour. Other notable courses open to the public include the Makaha Resort & Golf Club (Click here) on the Wai′anae Coast; the Arnold Palmer and Greg Fazio Courses at North Shore’s Turtle Bay Resort (Click here); and Waimanalo’s Olomana Golf Links (Click here) and Kane′ohe’s Ko′olau Golf Course (Click here) on the Windward Coast.
HANG GLIDING & SKYDIVING
For experts, O′ahu’s top hang gliding is from the cliffs opposite Sandy Beach Park (Click here) and Makapu′u Point (Click here) east of Hanauma Bay. Skydiving and glider rides are offered at the North Shore’s Dillingham Airfield (Click here).
HIKING
O′ahu has an incredible variety of hiking trails, many of which sit smack-dab in urban Honolulu, even though they feel many miles away from civilization.
Just outside Waikiki, an all-ages paved trail summits Diamond Head Crater (Click here), making a touristy version of a pilgrimage that ends with sweeping ocean views. The lush forest-reserve trails in the upper Manoa and Makiki Valleys around Mt Tantalus (Click here) are pleasantly devoid of crowds –waterfalls, native flora and fauna (especially myriad birdlife) and head-spinning lookouts are among the rewards of this extensive trail network.
The Kuli′ou′ou Ridge Trail (Click here) outside Hawai′i Kai and Kea′iwa Heiau State Recreation Area (Click here) near Pearl Harbor offer more opportunities to climb into the windswept Ko′olau Range, while a paved trail leads out to the lighthouse at Makapu′u Point (Click here). The winding Maunawili Trail System (Click here) connects the Pali Hwy with coastal Waimanalo, passing near a small pooling waterfall. Farther north, a wet, verdant scramble