Customer Rating: 
Summary: The only book you need!
Comment: Working as an outdoor guide in Hawaii for a summer gave me a chance to discover the island of Oahu. It also helped me realize the that is the ONLY guide to hiking on Oahu that is worth buying. Not only do you get VERY accurate trail descriptions, you also get driving directions, directions from TheBus and information on flora and fauna in the area. I dare you to try and get lost!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Varied but difficult hikes!
Comment: This book has taken us thorugh tropical rain forests, dense valleys, and sun-parched craters. The variety of hikes is wonderful. There is something for everyone in here, well, everyone except the beginner hiker. It seems even beginning hikes in the book are a bit challenging. This is because Oahu has such a varity of terrain. However, if you are looking to take a relaxing stroll through the woods this book will be of no use to you. We have children so we only do the novice hikes and even those are challenging, but fun and dirty! This is probalby for more serious hikers and some of the hikes mentioned are 12 miles long! That takes a long time in Oahu's terrain! The author always write in interesting tidbits of info in his hike description which I like. Things such as the where the strawberry guava trees are, where the WWII tunnel is, etc...The one negative to this book is that many of the hikes the author writes about are closed to the public and you have to write for permission to hike them. To me, this is a pain and I am not organized enough to plan ahead and do this. If you are better organized than I, I am sure you would enjoy them. We are just a bit more spontaneous. Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Only O`ahu Hiking Book You Need
Comment: I won a copy of the first edition of this book in a contest in 1994, and since then it has helped me find dozens of beautiful and enjoyable trails. For example, one of the trails we found was a great hike in Wahiawa through the back country of an Army training base. As the author suggested, we wrote to the commander and we got permission to do this hike that rambles over hills and across streams, and all at the cool elevation of Wahiawa.
Some of the highlights of the book include great descriptions of the flora along the trail, reproductions of topo maps for each hike that show you the pitch of the trail(although you should probably get the real topo if you plan to get lost), clear route descriptions that show that the author has been on these trails many times, and a wonderful layout.
It is the best hiking book I have ever read (although I've probably only read about a dozen). It is without equal among O`ahu hiking books.
I just bought the second edition, and if possible, it's even better than the first one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: good book but outdated
Comment: this is a great hiking guide but please keep in mind the published date; it's quite old by now and as such, the detailed hiking descriptions are sorely in need of an update. thus, please be careful when using the guide as a reference, as you could end up getting lost. getting an opinion from local hikers would be your best bet.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A book for all ages, skill levels, and adventurers on Oahu!
Comment: Simple: this is the best hiking book ever published regarding trails on Oahu. How do I know? Not only have I used it, I've hiked a couple of times with the author and watched him take notes. An experienced hiker with over 20 years in these mountains, Stuart Ball knows what he's talking about and describes the trails with detail, map, and comment. I've seen the other books on the market - this is by far the BEST reference for hiking on Oahu. Ask anyone you find on these trails - they might just produce a copy from their backpacks!
