Olivine Pools Trail

Olivine Pools Trail is an estimated 0.4-mile round trip from the Kahekili Highway pullout to a rocky coastal viewing area. Plan roughly 30 to 60 minutes for the uneven descent and return climb. The shoreline has tidepools cut into dark lava, but this is a rough scramble rather than a maintained, signed trail.

Several worn traces descend from the roadside over jagged rock, with irregular footholds and some steep pitches; the lower stretch becomes rock-hopping. The mapped line follows one short OSM footway for about 0.21 mile each way. No official route or signed turnaround was found, so the stored line ends at that mapped corridor rather than adding a guessed extension. The return is short but climbs the same broken slope.

The pools sit on an exposed ocean edge. Large waves can roll in after a lull and wash across the lava shelves. Stay well back from the water and do not swim, jump, or continue onto the outer ledges. For a photo, use a stable higher vantage and frame the pools with the surf beyond; don't move closer to the edge for a better angle. Water clarity and surf vary.

The roadside pullout is near mile marker 16 on Kahekili Highway (Highway 340); no facilities were found. Hawaiʻi DLNR's 2023 advisory minutes describe mixed land status and note that staff did not plan action to increase use because of safety concerns. I could not verify public trail authorization, so confirm access with DLNR before leaving the roadside. No reliable pet rule was found; check before bringing a dog.