Oahu Exploration: Friendship Garden



This week, our "exploring Oahu" family outing took us to beautiful Kane'ohe (in Hawaiian: Bamboo Man). Kane'ohe, in my mind, is known for being lush (code for abundant in mosquitos), the O'ahu home of the Marines, the Ko'olau Mountains, and hikes such as "Stairway to Heaven". This was NOT that hike. Friendship Garden was a hidden gem to be discovered...with only a slight rise in elevation...and only a few stairs. 



Friendship Garden was a quick drive down Kane'ohe Bay Drive (past Castle High School) and up a residential side street (after we drove down H2, H1, and H3 from Mililani). 



Nestled at the back of a small Windward community is a sweet little family hike that provides opportunities for views of the bay, exploring, shade, and a lesson on botanicals. 


The Friendship Garden hike is not particularly hard or long, but it is uphill with switchbacks. The trade off is there are hardly any moments (until the end) that you are battling direct sunlight and there are many peek-a-boo views to keep you motivated towards the top. 


We saw several dogs along the hike...which led us to believe this hike is great for four legged pets...and two legged pets (aged 13 and 4). 😉



I've mentioned before that my green thumb is lacking, but I can still appreciate looking at flowers. This hike offered floral sights ranging from Coral Hybiscus, Ferns, and Heliconia (Lobster Claw) to name a few...that I never would have known the name of, if it weren't for the convenient signs labeling them along the hike!




Our entire family enjoyed this hike. It was the perfect length and difficulty for a Saturday that was filled with a previous walk, Primary Election Voting, Library Book Sale, and late summer kids room cleaning. The only negative was the mosquitos we tried unsuccessfully to keep away. Each time I scratch my legs, I'm reminded of our fun adventure though!



If you plan to check out Friendship Garden, plan to encounter few people along the trail (it was noticeably uncrowded), know that parking is extremely limited (we lucked out), be prepared for a few mosquito bites (especially if you are human and have blood), know that mans best friend is welcome (and friendly to fellow hikers...and may cause your kids to beg for a pet dog for the rest of the hike), and that everyone (from preschooler to middle schooler to mid-lifers) can pretty easily navigate this hike to enjoy Kane'ohe Bay views as their payoff. 

Extra side note: 
If you are extremely lucky, you can spot the elusive "Bamboo Man" along the hike like I did. (pictured in white shirt above)


Many thanks to Google---through you I was able to find http://www.oahufamilyactivities.com where I first learned about http://friendshipgarden.org. 

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