Hawaii trails · Sliding Sands Trail
Sliding Sands Trail
A 7.8-mile out-and-back in Hawaii, with 3,146 ft of climbing. Reaches Pākaʻaoʻao and other summit destinations.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 53% of the ascent falls between mile 5.2 and mile 7.8. It climbs almost continuously, with little descent to recover on.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Pākaʻaoʻao (summit)
- ʻŌʻilipuʻu (summit)
Getting there
Sliding Sands — parking nearby, restroom, water. 20.71458, -156.25020 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:46 a.m., the sun rises at 6:08 a.m. and sets at 6:41 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:04 p.m. (HST) — 12 h 33 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 15.6-mile round trip takes roughly 8 h 56 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:04 p.m. — 3 h 37 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Halemauu Trail — 3.0 mi
- Ka Moa o Pele Loop — 4.1 mi
- Kaupo Trail — 9.8 mi