Lanai hiking (views!) 🌴 5+ Lanai hikes I’ve done without a car 🌴 Hawaii travel blog

ALOHA!

Lanai is a less-visited Hawaiian island that can be reached by ferry from Maui.

Many people go to Lanai as a day trip. It can be a great way to get away from the crowds of Maui if you’re staying in the resort area of West Maui and want to get a taste for another part of Hawaii.

So, whether you’re making it a day trip to Lanai or you’re staying a few quiet days on Lanai, you have a few options for some hikes with great views! 

First, the quick list on the best hikes in Lanai.

Then, a little bit about each of these Lanai hiking trails.

And then, a few notes on how to get to each of the Lanai hikes without a car!

So…

5+ best hikes in Lanai

1. Puu pehe Trail (Sweetheart Rock)

To see the iconic sweetheart rock.

2. Koloiki Ridge Trail

To see Lanai’s neighbor islands of Maui and Molokai!

3. Fisherman’s Trail

For a lava rock coastal trail.

4. Hike to Shipwreck Beach

To see the iconic “shipwreck.”

5. Shark’s Bay

For a lava rock tide pool hike right along the ocean.

6. Hike to Garden of the Gods

🌴

And now…

A bit more about each of these hiking trails in Lanai!

Puu Pehe Trail

This is probably the most popular hiking trail on Lanai.

This is the one that will take you to the iconic “sweetheart rock” of Lanai.

There’s an easy-to-follow trail that will take you to some viewpoints, and towards the end it’ll be a little uphill. It’s also a thing to come here for sunrise and many people do.

Along the way, there are some tide pools down along the ocean. You can swim in these, and you may be able to see some colorful tropical fish in some of them too. See more about the Lanai tide pools for swimming.

Also along the way, you’ll be able to see Shark’s Bay. 

This starts at Hulopoe Beach, the beach that’s a 10-15 minute walk from the Manele Harbor, which is where you’ll come from if you take a ferry from Maui.

As you’re facing the ocean, this trail starts off to the left of the beach.

In the past, the Hulopoe Beach campground has been open if you wanted to make it an overnight on Lanai on the cheap. (Well, cheap for Lanai!)

See more about this Lanai hiking trail:

• Sweetheart Rock overlook trail

Koloiki Ridge Trail

As a ridge trail, this is a hike that will give you ocean views!

Hopefully the weather is good when you do this, and if it is, then you can see both Maui and Molokai on this trail! 

This trail intersects with Munro Trail which is actually a dirt road that cars drive on. 

This will likely be a 2-3 hour hike.

See more about this Lanai hiking trail:

• Koloiki Ridge Trail

Fisherman’s Trail

This is another coastal hike that you can do that also starts from Hulopoe Beach, on the other side of the beach from the sweetheart rock trail. It’s to the right side as you’re facing the ocean when you’re on the beach.

This actually goes pretty far along the coast. If you’re looking at the map, you start at the beach, and you can keep going further than the golf course at the Four Seasons resort (where I decided to head back). 

You might not want to do this hike if it’s been raining! The mud on this trail was crazy! Super heavy mud would stick to my shoes and I could barely walk! Each time I’d wipe the mud off, new mud would stick.

Otherwise, it can be a beautiful coast trail!

See more about this Lanai hiking trail:

• Fishermans Trail

Hike to Shipwreck Beach

This is a beach you can drive to.

But if you won’t have a rental car, then you can still visit it by thinking of this as a solid hike! 

This also means that you’ll be walking along the same dirt road that cars drive.

You can get a shuttle to the end of the paved road, and from there it might be around 2 miles to get to the end of the road where you’ll see a sign for Shipwreck Beach.

And then from there, you can continue to walk as far as you want before turning around. Most people don’t go very far along the beach past the parking area.

So if you do go further, then it’ll be a nice quiet stroll along the beach that can kind of feel like you’re walking on a deserted island!

Also near the Shipwreck Beach parking lot is a trail to see Hawaii petroglyphs.

See more about this Lanai hike:

• Shipwreck Beach

Hike to Shark’s Bay beach

And then another hike from Hulopoe Beach.

Again, Shark’s Bay is the beach that you can see when you do the hike to the sweetheart rock. 

There’s an “easy” (easier) way to do this, and there’s a more “challenging” way to get to Shark’s Bay. The easy way to do it is a longer hike (walk) but it’s mostly manageable. The more challenging way to do this requires going down a (very) steep set of rocks that’s practically a cliff which also might be a bit scary depending on who you are. 

The slightly shadowy area along the cliff to the left of this picture is where you’ll find a kind of “path.” It’s pretty much vertical.

The easy way isn’t really an official hiking trail. You are basically just walking all along lava rocks and tide pools along the ocean. Consider it a very Hawaii experience! You start at Hulopoe Beach, and you can continue walking all along the lava rocks and pools to reach the Shark’s Bay side! There are lava rocks that go all the way around. 

Hike to Garden of the Gods

This is another spot you can drive to. 

You can do this if you are up for a LONG day hike! (maybe 12-13+ miles).

Once again since this isn’t on a regular hiking trail, but instead you’ll be walking on a dirt road, the same that cars (or other motor vehicles) drive on. 

See more about this Lanai hike:

• Garden of the Gods

Planning a Lanai hike or 2 as a day trip from Maui

So if you’re making it a day trip, you can make time to do all the trails that start at Hulopoe Beach.

If you’re ambitious, you can likely do both the Koloiki Ridge Trail and Shipwreck Beach hike in one day too. (It would be best to start early.) Consider that each hike might take up half a day. So one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It would be a full day of hiking.

Otherwise, consider a hike in the morning and then spend your afternoon at Hulopoe Beach! 

Hulopoe Beach is a marine life conservation district in Maui County and it’s known as a snorkeling spot on Lanai. 

If you need to, pick up snacks and water at the Manele General Store when you arrive at the Lanai ferry harbor!

How to get to these hikes without a car

For the hikes that start near Hulopoe Beach, you can walk there from the ferry port. It is about a 10-15 minute walk.

For Koloiki Ridge Trail, you can take the Lanai shuttle and request a drop-off at Four Seasons Koele. The trail starts near here. Download the free app called mapsme (along with the Hawaii map on that app) and it’ll make it easy to find the start of the trail.

For Shipwreck Beach, you can again take the Lanai shuttle and request a drop-off to as far as the paved road goes. 

For Garden of Gods, similarly you can request a drop off to as far as the paved road goes.

See more about taking the Lanai shuttle.

And that’s a bit about how to do some of the best hikes on Lanai!

Get to know the basics of Lanai!

For more hikes in Hawaii with beautiful views, see:

• Best hikes on Maui
• Hiking in the national park on Maui
• Hiking in the national park on the Big Island
• Best hikes on the Big Island
• Best hikes on Oahu

Plus also see the best of West Maui!

HAPPY HIKING IN LANAI!