Waihee Ridge Trail, Waihee

If you have friends who like to take outdoor photos, do not bring them on this hike! They will stop at every turn to snap a photo as the area is so beautiful! Seriously though, we have been on many hikes in incredible places and this is definitely one of our top 10. The first part of the hike is very steep. If you are older like me and need to warm up old muscles and joints, consider warming up in the parking lot as the first concrete section toward the water storage towers is at least a 30% grade. After that section, it is still an uphill trek but you do have some areas along the way that are less steep and a few flat areas. We had some clouds on the way up which we welcomed as the upper section of the hike does not offer much shade. The flip side to that is visibility up top was not very good. We did have a couple of breezes come through that cleared the low level clouds for 20-30 seconds which allowed for some great photos. It is a beautiful area and we highly recommend this hike but just be prepared as the hike is not easy.

This hike is challenging for someone who's not in shape like me lol but I made it to the top! It starts out pretty steep but there is a bench where you rest about a quarter of the way up and a platform about half the way up that you can get the first magnificent view from. I went on a relatively clear day but there was a cloud at the top of the mountain so going all the way up wasn't really worth it. I did it just to say I did it. The views are along this hike are incredible and there is a really nice breeze that keeps you at a comfortable temperature. Coming down from the peak was an experience. It rained the day before so the dirt was like a clay like consistency in certain areas creating quite the slip and slide. Once you get used to it, it isn't bad but I recommend good shoes or honestly even some small spikes/poles if it rained recently. I highly recommend doing at least the first three quarters! The last quarter was pretty much up in the clouds for me so I didn't have a view of anything when I got to the top.