It's all in the details!
NANAKULI LOOKOUT TRAIL
at CAMP PALEHUA (1 Palehua Road, Kapolei)
at CAMP PALEHUA (1 Palehua Road, Kapolei)
- An exclusive forest bathing experience on Oʻahu's Westside in the Waiʻanae Mountains incorporates a relatively easy hike and a unique place-based learning opportunity.
- The Nanakuli Lookout trailhead is on the private grounds managed by Camp Palehua. Before forest bathing, we'll hike for about half a mile on some rocky ground with some incline (see photo on this page). On this portion of the experience, you'll be guided by a Camp staff member, who is also a Hawaiian cultural practitioner and educator. They'll share with you moʻolelo (stories) of the land and the archeological sites along the trail.
- We'll continue more slowly into the eucalyptus forest with sensory-opening invitations facilitated by Phyllis, your certified forest therapy guide. At a spectacular outlook with a famous legend of its own, we'll pause for tea and snacks, then return to Camp together.
- Total distance: ~2 miles. Elevation change: ~1,000 feet. Time: ~4 hours.
- The Camp is about 20 minutes from the H-1 Makakilo exit and requires a code for the gated entrance to the one-lane Pālehua Road. Accessible via private vehicles only.
- Parking is free on the Camp grounds; however, space is limited and carpooling is recommended.
- Plan to arrive around 8:45am and meet your guides at the Camp's Office.
- This is a private tour and requires a minimum of 4 persons, maximum of 8.
- Minimum age 16 years old.
- Both Forest Bathing Hawaiʻi's liability waiver and Camp Palehua's online waiver completed in advance by each participant are required.
- Further directions and the gate passcode will be sent about two days before event.
- The Nanakuli Lookout trail has been named by Honolulu Magazine one of the best family- friendly trails on the island. Unlike a traditional forest bathing path, however, part of it is still a hike and requires good physical fitness and ability to negotiate uneven ground and inclines. For the safety of the group, Forest Bathing Hawaiʻi reserves the right to deny entry to those who are not able to traverse the terrain at a moderate pace or who have not met other requirements. Guide's determination is final; a 15% refund will be offered to those who have overestimated their hiking abilities and asked to leave the tour.
KAHALUʻU GALLERY AND GARDENS
47-754 Lamaula Road, Kaneʻohe
47-754 Lamaula Road, Kaneʻohe
- Located in a residential neighborhood on the Windward side of O‘ahu, this is the former home, studio, and gallery of well-known oil painters Hiroshi Tagami and Michael Powell. Featuring a wide variety of exotic and beautiful plants and flowers, some specimens even created by the late Mr. Tagami, Kahalu‘u Gallery and Gardens is a one-acre work of art in three dimensions.
- On your 2-hour forest bathing walk, you'll travel through the grounds and follow the paved switchback which descends into the forested gully at the back of the property.
- Following the walk, you'll get exclusive access to the art gallery, where you'll find paintings and prints by Tagami and Powell, as well as the work of nature photographer Nate Yuen, plus sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry by other local artists. (The gallery and gardens are usually open by appointment only.)
- Free on-street parking.
FOREST BATHING IN A RAIN FOREST
- Commercial tours at the University of Hawaiʻi's Lyon Arboretum were suspended at the end of September.
