There’s a feeling you get sometimes that reminds you just how lucky you are to call a place home. If you slow down, listen carefully, and open your senses, you can find it in some of the simplest and most beautiful places, sometimes right in your own backyard. On a recent Saturday, we were looking for a change of pace and a chance to spend time together as a family, so we headed up into the forest. It had been a while since our last visit, and it turned out to be the perfect way to reconnect with each other, with nature, and with this island we love.
The drive up the forest road is all part of the adventure. It begins as you leave the pavement and head mauka through the lowlands, alongside working cattle operations and vast open ranch lands. As you climb, the landscape shifts from red dirt, open fields, and scrub brush to thicker vegetation and tall trees, and the world becomes noticeably quieter. It’s a gradual but striking transition, where the island reveals some of its true natural beauty.
Once you enter the forest, everything changes. The canopy overhead gives the place a calm, sheltered feeling. The noise of daily life fades, replaced by the sounds of birds, the wind moving through the trees, and even daytime crickets. (Who knew there was such a thing?) It’s the kind of place that makes you slow down, for real, to take it all in.
Near the top of the mountain, we stopped at the old sandalwood measuring pit, once used to size loads for trading ships. Dug to match the shape and volume of a ship’s cargo hold, it was a practical tool from another time, a small glimpse of the history tucked away in the forest.
A little farther up is the Waikolu Valley lookout, where you can see all the way to Molokai’s North Shore. From here, you’re level with the clouds, which sometimes hide the mountaintops from view. It’s a sight that never gets old.
There’s also a comfortable day-use area with a wide grassy clearing, a pavilion, picnic tables, and bathrooms — a welcome amenity when you’re this far from home. This is where most people gather, and it’s easy to see why. Kids run in the open field, families share lunch, and everyone just takes in the surroundings. The entire place is full of beauty, with a mix of foliage and wildflowers, and if you’re lucky, you might even find some ripe wild blackberries. Being in that open space, surrounded by nature, you feel it…the calm, the room to breathe, and the quiet joy of simply being together in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
For a few hours, we enjoyed each other’s company, talking story and simply being together. No phones, no emails, no schedule—just quality time. Reconnecting with each other in the beauty of nature slows down time and brings into focus what’s truly important. It’s a good reminder that some of the best things about Molokai are the ones you can’t buy or plan for, you just have to make space for them to happen.
The Molokai Forest Reserve is one of those places you don’t just visit — you feel it. It stays with you. And it reminds you that this island, with all its beauty and depth, has so much more to offer than meets the eye. It’s not flashy or crowded. It’s real. And it’s ours.
When you experience something so special, it’s easy to Love Where You Live — right here on Molokai.
To learn more about the Molokai Forest Reserve, click HERE.
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