There’s an arch on the windward facing side of Koko Crater in southeast Oahu.
It’s a great place to check out and take pictures if you’re around the Hawaii Kai area or on the way to Sandy Beach.
Most people know Koko Crater for the tramway trail that goes straight up the face of it. People hike up it regularly to get a work out. I try to go once a week or so to get some cardio exercise.
We took a different route to get up on the ridge.
The way up is fairly obvious.
There’s no real trail to follow though.
The sooner you get up to the ridge the sooner you’ll see these views.
It’s nicer to have views of the coastline than to be stuck in that ravine.
If you look up at Koko Crater you can see the arch. You might have to look closely as it sort of blends in.
The trail is well defined here.
Once you reach the arch you can walk over it or under it. We started by going under. The dirt is all loose gravel here you so you’ll want to be wearing shoes with good grip. We went down the right side of the arch.
From here you can explore the area a bit.
It’s best to come here with a few people so you can have someone stay at the arch while you traverse the slope to get to this vantage point. On this day I came with Christina and Jake (Instagram: jake_of_all_trades).
If you’re going to go up the top of the arch you definitely want to be wearing some grippy shoes. The top is very steep and slippery.
I would advise against hiking up it in slippers. Sometimes there’s a rope up there but don’t count on it.
If you wanted to you can hike all the way up the rim of Koko Crater and then up to the top of the stairs. On this day we just wanted to take some photos and talk story at the arch.
Jake tried coming down this side of the arch and found that it was much more slippery (on account of the loose gravel) than the other side.
He went back up to find a comfortable place to sit.
Christina and I joined him back under the arch. We hung out for a bit happy to be away from any crowds. It’s a little tough to find a comfortable place to sit up here though as the slope is at an extreme angle.
Looking south we could see a bit of Hanauma Bay and Koko Head.
Eventually we went down the same way we came up.
Watch your footing here, the gravel is super loose.
We made our way up the left side of the arch.
The grade is super steep here too but the ground is course and easy for your shoes to grip on to.
At the bottom we made our way back into that ravine and back to the street.
It takes just 10-15 minutes to get to the arch from the parking lot. Once you’re done there are plenty of things nearby that you can do.
The closest “attraction” would be Cockroach Cove.
Other activities nearby:
- Hike the Koko Crater tramway.
- Go to Sandy Beach.
- Visit Portlock Point or China Wall.
- Hike down to the Makapu’u Tide Pools.
- Go to Pele’s Chair and Alan Davis Beach.
See also:
- Directions to the Halona Blowhole Lookout on Google Maps.
- Jake Marote’s incredible Instagram feed: jake_of_all_trades.
- Another story about the arch on HawaiianForest.com: HTMC and the Arch at Koko Crater.
