HIKE PONO
Hike Pono
- Only use official trails or in the Outerspatial app. Unofficial trails are illegal and may harm native species habitat.
- Clean gear before and after hiking, and use boot brush stations. This helps avoid the spread of invasive seeds or diseases like Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death.
- Stay on the trail. Shortcuts harm plants & cause erosion.
- Keep pets on leashes at all times. This protects your pet, wildlife, and other hikers.
Keep your music in headphones rather than playing music out loud on speakers for everyone to hear. Playing loud music on trails is prohibited in Hawaiʻi. Others on the trail may want to enjoy the sounds of nature, and for good reason: hearing birdsong is good for your mental health.
If you are birding, follow our guidelines for Ethical Birding in Hawaiʻi and check out our Hawaiʻi Birding Trails portal to learn which birds you might see on which trails.
Most trails do not have dedicated parking areas, so remember to be kind to neighbors who live near trailheads. Don’t block their driveways or mailboxes when you park, and don’t use their hoses to wash your muddy boots.
Our forests are cultural spaces, so be respectful. Native Hawaiians consider mauka areas the wao akua (realm of the gods) and some trails may traverse wahi pana (places of special significance). Some trails are ancient and historic trails used by Native Hawaiians and are protected for cultural value and use.
Make sure you hike safely: Know your route before you go and check the description to see if it matches your physical limits. Tell someone your hiking plans and when you expect to return so they can call for help if you don’t return. Take a fully-charged cellphone with you, but be aware you may not have service along the trail. Check the weather before you hike, and take sufficient food, water, sun protection, rain protection, and a first aid kit. Some of our trails go through Public Hunting Areas, so be aware that you may cross paths with hunters and dogs, and consider wearing blaze orange. You can read our Hiking Saftey brochure for more details.
To learn more about Hawaiʻi’s trails and safe hiking, visit Nā Ala Hele pages.
Play Pono
- Only have campfires at official campsites that allow campfires. Keep camp and cooking fires in enclosed containers.
- Have a water source ready to extinguish the fire, and never leave before the coals are cool to the touch. Let Smokey Bear show you how to soak, stir, soak, stir, and feel the coals.
- Don’t set off fireworks or sparklers, especially near forests or grassy areas. On holidays, go watch a professional fireworks show instead.
- Keiki can help! Watch Smokey Bear, who says not to play with matches, sparklers, or fireworks. If you see a fire, don’t stall! Call 911.
Mālama Pono
- Keep a safe distance from all wildlife. Many of Hawaiʻi’s animals are threatened or endangered, and disturbing them is against the law. Use binoculars, stay on the trail, and don’t get too close when taking photos.
- Keep wildlife wild: never feed wild animals. It’s illegal, and it can make them sick.
- Don’t feed feral cats or leave pet food outside. Food placed outside can inadvertently end up in the bellies of native wildlife.
-
You can help by reporting violations to the DLNRTip app or the DLNR hotline, 643-DLNR. This reporting tool works for violations related to both terrestrial and marine species.
You can also help by reporting downed seabirds that need the care of wildlife experts. To learn more about Hawaiʻi’s amazing wildlife and how you can help, visit Wildlife pages.
Gather Pono
- Get permission before you gather. For privately-owned lands that means asking the landowner. For public Forest Reserves, that means getting a Forest Reserve System collection permit.
- We have a separate permit for gathering as a Native Hawaiian customary and traditional practice when in a Forest Reserve. You can learn about the context for this permit under the Forest Reserves section of our Forestry & Wildlife Permits page.
- Take only what you need, and only what the land can provide.
-
Most personal collection permits are free, depending on the amount being collected. Commercial collection permits are also available. To learn more about Hawaiʻi’s forests and our Forest Reserve System, visit Forestry pages.
Be Smart!
• Pack out what you pack in
• Do walk on the land with a light footprint
• Pick flowers and plants with care. Plants can die when roots and stems are damaged.
• Don’t release plants or animals into the area
• Make sure that boots are as clean as possible when entering and leaving the area in order to prevent the spread of weeds and soil borne diseases
• Get involved; help us manage our trails by volunteering with Na Ala Hele.
• Stay on trails
• Don’t disturb obvious cultural sites
• Respect native Hawaiian cultural practices and sacred places.
• Keep fires out of our forests.
Ho’okuleana “to take responsibility”
Ho’okuleana is the theme of DLNR’s outreach efforts that strive to involve communities and constituencies in assisting in the management of our natural and cultural resources.
In a single word, Ho’okuleana is focused on “responsibility.” Our individual and collective responsibility to:
Participate - rather than ignore
Prevent - rather than react
Preserve - rather than degrade Let’s work together to better understand, respect, use, care about and care for our natural and cultural resources and, by doing so, make Hawaii a great place to live.
Mauka – Makai From the Mountains to the Sea
Mauka (toward the mountains) and Makai (toward the ocean) are not just directional references; they embody our fundamental natural and cultural resources, land and ocean. Hawaiians believe there is a balance between ocean and land. In traditional times, the ocean and its marine life were as well known as the life attributes of the upland areas.
This intimate relationship with nature resonates today in the modern principle of sustainability. We continue a strong interconnected, interrelated and interdependent relationship with our natural and cultural resources.
Some call it ecosystem-based stewardship; to the Hawaiians, this was exemplified in the ahupua’a (an ancient land division system divided into strips of land from the mountain to the sea supporting self-contained communities.)
The legacy of the mountain-to-sea management system and the attention to ecosystem-focused sustainability continue today. Living on islands requires balance in addressing human needs while protecting our natural and cultural resources. We must hold our islands in good stewardship for the generations to come.
Our natural and cultural resources are not simply historic sites, oceans, streams, mountains, trees, birds and fish. They are the foundation of our economy and the key to our quality of life. Our natural and cultural resources define Hawaii’s “sense of place.” They make and keep Hawaii, Hawaii.
Mauka:
Cultural Significance Mauka lands have been occupied for over 1000 years. There is a long history of historical and cultural significance of lands everywhere in this archipelago.
The Hawaiians recognize two broad ecological zones, the wao kanaka, or realm of man, and wao akua, the realm of the gods.
The wao kanaka are those areas where people live and work today. The wao akua are the upland areas. Please respect the wao akua. These areas are still revered by Hawaiians and others as the places of spiritual renewal.
Many of these areas have Hawaiian names that reflect their unique features; even the winds and the rains in certain areas have unique names.
If you are quiet, if you open your heart and listen carefully you may experience the beauty and mystery that people have felt for centuries.
Whether near the coast or in the most remote interior regions, there will be unique natural and cultural resources that we are all called upon to care for
– please be careful.
Our Stewardship Responsibility The protected mauka areas have been set aside as preserves by the State of Hawaii because of their cultural, environmental and economic value. In Hawaii we believe that people care for the land, and in return the land cares for the people.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the production of water. Each island must provide for its own water needs. Without water, the land cannot support life or people.
It is for the protection of watersheds that most of our mauka areas were set aside as Forest Reserves. These reserves also contain some of our last remaining ecosystems. These same areas were recognized for their importance as hunting areas, native ecosystems, recreation areas, and for their aesthetic value.
The State of Hawaii is committed to protecting these areas and passing them along intact to future generations. We ask for your assistance in this important mission.
Unique Environments
Hawaii is extremely diverse, with many unique environments.
On the Big Island one can go from tropical beaches to snow-covered alpine tundra in the distance of a few miles.
We have high-elevation bogs dominated by bonsai-like trees and cool mountain streams. These are just a few of the more than 150 types of native ecosystems supporting plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Most of our native birds and stream animals, for example, are found only in these islands.
Our ecosystems have developed in extreme isolation. Thorny plants that arrived millions of years ago have lost their thorns. Similarly, toxic plants lost their poisons.
Our islands are like small boats in the vast ocean. We all rely on them, and should care for them because our lives depend on it.
Please, walk gently, stay on trails and boardwalks, and do your best not to spread damaging weeds and insects
Source: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov