The Hikers Guide to O'Ahu

Working as an outdoor guide in Hawaii for a summer gave me a chance to discover the island of Oahu. It also helped me realize the that is the ONLY guide to hiking on Oahu that is worth buying. Not only do you get VERY accurate trail descriptions, you also get driving directions, directions from TheBus and information on flora and fauna in the area. I dare you to try and get lost!

I won a copy of the first edition of this book in a contest in 1994, and since then it has helped me find dozens of beautiful and enjoyable trails. For example, one of the trails we found was a great hike in Wahiawa through the back country of an Army training base. As the author suggested, we wrote to the commander and we got permission to do this hike that rambles over hills and across streams, and all at the cool elevation of Wahiawa.Some of the highlights of the book include great descriptions of the flora along the trail, reproductions of topo maps for each hike that show you the pitch of the trail(although you should probably get the real topo if you plan to get lost), clear route descriptions that show that the author has been on these trails many times, and a wonderful layout. It is the best hiking book I have ever read (although I've probably only read about a dozen). It is without equal among O`ahu hiking books.I just bought the second edition, and if possible, it's even better than the first one.

this is a great hiking guide but please keep in mind the published date; it's quite old by now and as such, the detailed hiking descriptions are sorely in need of an update. thus, please be careful when using the guide as a reference, as you could end up getting lost. getting an opinion from local hikers would be your best bet.

Simple: this is the best hiking book ever published regarding trails on Oahu. How do I know? Not only have I used it, I've hiked a couple of times with the author and watched him take notes. An experienced hiker with over 20 years in these mountains, Stuart Ball knows what he's talking about and describes the trails with detail, map, and comment. I've seen the other books on the market - this is by far the BEST reference for hiking on Oahu. Ask anyone you find on these trails - they might just produce a copy from their backpacks!

Most people never hear of the great hikes available on the island of O'ahu, but I thought that if I were going to live there I would need a few more hikes than the "Famous Sacred Falls" hike that all of the tourist hike. I set out to borrow a few hiking books and try the hikes that they listed...Stuart M. Ball's book beat all of the others easily. I had no trouble finding the trailheads, the hikes were rated along lines that I agree with, seasonal variations are taken into account, and markers are clearly identified...although you may want to familiarize yourself with exactly what an Ironwood tree and Australian tea plants are before you try to use them as points of reference. This book has now traveled with me from the gulches of the Windward coast to the highest point of O'ahu...Mt. Ka'ala, and I've made it back everytime so far too. If you're going to spend any time on the island of O'ahu and want to get out and do some hiking then forget all the other books and get this one...it is obviously written by someone that has been there and done that.