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Print Friendly MapThe Pearl Harbor Bike Path starts just beyond the Arizona Memorial parking lot and Pearl Harbor Marina. A new extension has been constructed, and the trail now crosses Waimano Home Road and ends at Waipi'o Point Access Road. This is an interesting, fun ride that crosses wooden bridges and has some long, straight stretches. It does pass by some industrial areas, making for some less-than-pleasant scenery in places.
Access and parking for the bike path is at Aiea State Recreation off Kamehameha Highway near H201 and at Pearl Harbor Park off Kamehameha Highway where it intersects Kaahumanu Street.
I’m seeing a lot of reviews about the houseless community on the trails. To the folks leaving those reviews, are you doing anything to help?
I enjoy riding this trail w the 9 year old that I mentor. Beautiful views of the harbor, cool neighborhoods, old farms, houseless communities… golf courses (the irony). I’ve never once felt anymore unsafe then anywhere else in Pearl City.
Highly recommend for a unpolished representation of this beautiful place that we get to live.
This used to be such a nice, safe ride, but with all the homeless and increase in crime, do not recommend this pathway to the East Loch. You are better off riding at Ala Moana, but then again, it is quite crowded with tourists.
Kailua and Kane'ohe have some nice areas to ride. Happy Trails.
I tracked the distance on my run and only came up to 7 miles not sure how they came up with 10. Did encounter three areas with a handful of homeless, but they kept to themselves, no biggy. There are about 3 miles with absolutely no shade, so the heat at 4pm was a challenge. The are around The Neil Blaisdell park was very pretty even had a water fountain. The best thing about this trail is that it allowed me to run from work all the way to Waipio.
I started by the entrance by the base. The very first thing I have noticed was the homeless camps set up under an underpass. I kept riding a few more miles thinking it would improve and it was like that the whole way, nothing but homeless camps, sewage, garbage piles and very rough pavement. I was on a penny board and there was some spots I had to get off and walk a couple hundred yards until I found a decent patch of pavement. There was nothing scenic about this trail.
I commute from Royal Kunia to the airport, picking up the PHBP at the Waipahu dump to the end at Kam Highway near Pearl Harbor Memorial. As others have said scenery is not great, there are a couple homeless camps (some have been decorated really nice), a lot of street urchins fishing next to the contaminated seafood signs and of course a small sewage plant. It is not for sightseers although it does take you near the Navy's boneyard in Middle Loch if you like old ships.
But the trail is generally safe, most peds will give way if you ring a bell and it makes quick work of the worst transit chokepoint on the island. My ride is often as fast as a drive would be when traffic is backed up.
We parked at the Pearl Harbor lot and tried to ride, we went past the marina to where it said there was a bike path, but the gate was closed and the military people that were there told us that it didn't open until 1500 and that you needed ID to get through. We didn't ask if we needed military ID, but that would have been a good question. This web site needs to be updated, we had driven from the windward side and were looking forward to a good ride on a bike path.
I typically ride this path from Pearl City to the Joint Base Hickam 3-4 times per week back and forth to work. Traffic is usually light. You do get the morning walkers and the evening joggers, but everyone is pretty curtious. The homeless camps are not much to look at, but they keep their things out of the path and don't bother you. The smells from the industrial areas can be annoying some days. Trail is a little on the rough side in a few areas, but not completely unreasonable.
I ride a short portion of this Path from Aiea Bay State Recreation Park to Pearlridge Center Uptown (Kamehameha Hwy and Kaonohi St) as part of my commute home from work. Much of the trash discussed in earlier posts has been removed but the homeless camps along the Pearlridge section still remain.
While there are a few "Kodak moments" of the Harbor, much of the pathway goes behind and through industrial areas including a petroleum pipeline and its odor. This is definitely an outdoor attraction you won't see the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau adding to their website.
Bottom line...move on, nothing to see here.
Joined this site because I feel so strongly about giving a current review of this appalling path. Took a chance and ran the path, and found: raw sewage, dozens of piles of garbage up to my waist, multiple homeless encampments, feral dogs, an overwhelming miasma of feces, public bathrooms in Neil Blaisdell park in shocking condition, depressing industrial lots, and downright frightening highway underpasses. I do not recommend this path to anyone, certainly never to a woman alone or to families, and the city ought to be ashamed that it exists in this condition.
been on this ride a few times, not bad for a bike ride, its mellow for all ages, has its ugly points, and junky surfaces, but all and all not bad, quite a few places to stop and see things you wont see from your car on the road, lived in Kailua all my life so its nice to visit places I never seen before, especially on a bike on the back side of Kamehameha hwy. don't be turned off by all the neg reviews, its not that bad and not that long, just hot on the Waipahu side, bring water and enjoy! ALOHA
If you are looking for a ride through a homeless encampment, interspersed with factories and junkyard type businesses, by all means, hop on your bike and go for a spin on the Pearl Harbor Bike Path. I am truly stunned that this thoroughfare is even listed as fit for recreation. Also, from the parking access at Aiea State Recreation to the end at Waipahu Depot Street is 5.3 miles, not 10.
I had planned this ride based upon descriptions of a scenic and pleasurable ride. Based upon that I took my 7 year old daughter to ride along on her bike with training wheels. Note she routinely does 3-5 mile runs. While the directions to the park were fine, everything else about it was way off the mark. We headed East from the neil Blaisdale Park. The entire ride was through factorys, junk yards and homeless encampments, the trail was in miserable shape, the bridges worse. The section that was suppose to go to Pearl harbor and the Marina ia gated off. The only way around is along a high traffic road and even if you make it around, it is at the end of the trail. Really disappointing.
Thank you everyone, it is always good to see reviews from people who actually ride specific paths, trails, or streets and then share their experience with others so they know what to expect or to look out for.
As for the person that commented about the bike paths being better on Kauai, yes for the most part that is true. There is a really good bike path system south of Kapaa and the Lydgate park. If you head up further north past Kapaa there is another really good beach side bike path (somewhat south of Anini). However, on the leeward side of Kauai and also most access roads to good biking areas, there is usually no shoulder at all and based on everything I have been reading about Oahu, there are very few bike lanes anywhere and bike riders have to share the road and often the lane with cars. Maybe that is why there is not so much bike riding on Oahu.
I must say that Maui is a very bike friendly island, well at least West Maui. I rode the West Mauil loop several times and many other areas around there and the roads were very wide, almost all of them with very good sized bike lanes. One really nice thing I noticed about passing through intersections with lights in West Maui is that there is no such thing as blinking yellow left turn lights. You know when both directions of traffic have a green light and drivers in the left lane get a yellow blinking giving them the okay to turn left with caution. Well that does not exist over there so when you go blasting through an intersection on a green light you do not have to worry about getting left hooked by some frothing at the mouth crazy that is trying to beat oncoming traffic to get their left turn in, putting your life in peril. Oh and add to all of that, all the bike lanes out there are very clean and well maintained. No broken glass, no rumble patches, ruts, potholes.
I sure wish Oahu could step up their game and make their streets safer for bike riders.
We badly needed to ride away from traffic in Honolulu and read about this ten mile stretch from the Arizona Memorial parking lot. Unfortunately, the access gate is closed on weekends, and we had to make our way to join the bike path at Aiea Park across from Aloha Stadium. Before setting off on the trip, we decided to get a bite from Forty Niner Restaurant across the highway on Honomanu. The initial ride was a little basic and unpicturesque. There were scattered mounds of trash but fortunately only a few. Just after the Neal Blaisdell Park, we passed by a power station and came across some pensioners throwing breadcrumbs into the adjacent stream / lagoon. We were shocked to see huge koi fighting with ducks for the proferred breakfast. They were magnificent specimens in the wild, most likely released when they got too big. That was the highlight of our ride. A short ride up a gentle incline we saw farmers harvesting watercress. It was lovely to see urban agriculture up close. The rest of the trip was interesting enough but we could not find our way across the stream after the Waipio Point Access Road. So we detoured into the shopping area for coffee and a loaf of bread that was to be brunch for the koi on our return trip.
I rode the Pearl Harbor bike path this morning, and it is not the prettiest of paths (considering this is Hawaii), but it is pretty safe for family bike rides. I rode it from start to finish and the best scenery is of the East Loch to observe the large battleships which are quite incredible. There are a few areas on the trail that are pretty rough but all in the all not bad; just wish there were better scenery.
Note: if you are going to stop to take photos of the battleships, leave your bike on the bike path as there are long thorny stickers that will cause flat tires.
I ride the trail periodically to commute to work. It is OK. The surface is uneven and rough in spots. It is narrow and can have a lot os pedestrian use in areas. It also crosses some busy street so you have to watch for cars. It is about the best Hawaii has to offer though.
I was on this path two weeks ago and I am happy to report an improvment since Andy rode the path. There was no junk on the path, as I understand there was a community clean up in April. The path runs through an industrial-commercial area unlike most paths. The nearest bike store to the path only sells bikes and doesn't rent them. I get the impression that bike riding is not as popular in Hawaii as the main land. Most main roads have no or small shoulders(There is no snow to plow). Almost no one wears helmets.
The situation is better on the island of Kauai. There is a very nice path along the shore beginning in the village of Kapa'a. Just to the south is a nice path in Lydgate State path. There are many rental shops. As on Oahu the main roads have small or no shoulders and are dangerous to ride on.
"The Pearl Harbor bike path is just like the rest of Hawaii that is not for tourist. Its in terible shape and no one takes care of it and you have to dodge the bed springs, washing machines and abandoned cars but it still better than the side walks or roads."
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