Question - Hiking the Muliwai Trail to Waimanu Valley

This question was received by email:

In planning a trip to Hawaii for later this year your site has been very, very helpful in sorting out things to see and do. Hopefully you will also be able to help me fill in a few details. I am really, really looking forward to hiking the Muliwai Trail that goes from Waipio Valley to the Waimanu Valley and have a few questions in regards to it. I talked to DLNR, but they really didn’t help to fill in any of the blanks.

1. The best time. Possible choices are the end of August, middle of September, or early October. What would be the best choice weighing in crowds, rain, and hurricane season?
2. Is there any camping along Waipio Beach? I understand that a lot of the Waipio Valley is private property, but I was hoping there would be some way to hike down into the valley the night before, campout on Waipio Beach, and then hike over to Waimanu Valley the next day. Thoughts?
3. Any other tidbits you might have in regards to the trail?

-Matt M.

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Answer:

You can see the average weather during the year on this page: http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/travelplan/plan-your-trip.html

I would probably recommend an “out-of-season” trip in September or October — you can miss the crowds then, and your airline tickets will likely be much cheaper too. 

Camping is absolutely not permitted on Waipio Beach (nor is it permitted in Waipio Valley - but you may be able to find a remote area off-the-beaten-track to camp in Waipio away from the beach — althought technically, still not “legal”).  The trail conditions vary greatly month to month - the best thing to do is inquire with DLNR or visit the website directly that talks about the trail (and is where they post the latest warnings or dangerous conditions — https://hawaiitrails.ehawaii.gov/trail.php?TrailID=HA+35+001 ).

One more thing you can do is go to the DLNR site and type in “Muliwai” into the search box and it will return any recent press releases / news regarding the trail:

http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/search?SearchableText=muliwai

Enjoy your excursion - the Waimanu is incredibly beautiful.

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