Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club

Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club
Name	Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club
Founded	1910
Location	Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
Country	United States
Type	Nonprofit, volunteer
Focus	Trail maintenance, hiking, mountaineering, conservation

Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club is a long-established volunteer organization in Honolulu, Oʻahu, dedicated to trail stewardship, hiking, and mountain recreation. Founded in the early 20th century, the Club has worked with federal, state, and local entities across the Hawaiian Islands to maintain trails, promote outdoor safety, and support conservation of native ecosystems. It connects enthusiasts to landmark routes, community service, and educational resources across Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific region.

History

The Club traces origins to an era of exploration tied to figures and institutions such as Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kamehameha I, U.S. Board on Geographic Names, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Territory of Hawaii initiatives. Early leaders interacted with organizations including University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and ʻIolani Palace caretakers. Collaborations and campaigns engaged public figures and agencies like Lorrin A. Thurston, Walter F. Dillingham, Alexander & Baldwin, Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on access and preservation. Over decades the Club responded to events linked to Pearl Harbor, Territorial Legislature of Hawaii, State of Hawaii formation, Hawaiian Renaissance, Lei Day, and watershed protection movements. Partnerships evolved with conservation groups including Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, and regional bodies such as Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Organization and Membership

The Club has operated with a committee model interacting with municipal and federal authorities like City and County of Honolulu, State Parks Division, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and National Recreation and Park Association. Membership has historically included professionals from University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine, Kapiʻolani Community College, Hawaiʻi Community College, Hawaii Pacific University, and alumni of military units stationed at Schofield Barracks, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. Members engage in governance alongside affiliations with outdoor clubs such as American Alpine Club, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Appalachian Mountain Club, and international bodies like International Federation of Landscape Architects and International Union for Conservation of Nature. Volunteer coordinators liaise with agencies like Emergency Medical Services Authority, Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster, and local nonprofits such as Kupu and Hawaii Conservation Alliance.

Activities and Programs

Programs include guided hikes, navigational workshops, first-aid training, and trail work that intersect with entities like Hawaiian Electric Industries, Department of Transportation (Hawaii), U.S. Forest Service, Civilian Conservation Corps legacy projects, and Boy Scouts of America scouting activities. Educational efforts partner with schools such as Punahou School, Kamehameha Schools, Mid-Pacific Institute, and community centers including Palama Settlement and Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. Events have been co-sponsored alongside festivals and observances like Aloha Festivals, Kokua Festival, Earth Day, and National Trails Day. Safety campaigns reference standards from American Red Cross, National Ski Patrol, Outdoor Industry Association, and National Park Service, while guided outings draw on guidebooks and route data curated with input from Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club contemporaries in the Pacific, regional mountaineers, and recreation planners.

Conservation and Stewardship

Stewardship work involves restoration projects for native species connected to institutions such as National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, Kamehameha Schools Land Management, and research partners like Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, UH Mānoa Pacific Biosciences Research Center, and Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit. Efforts to control invasive plants and animals have coordinated with Department of Agriculture (United States), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council, and community groups including Mālama Maunalua and Friends of Manoa Falls. Trail conservation has supported watershed resilience linked to projects by U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Hawaii Land Trust, and Trust for Public Land. Policy engagement has intersected with commissions such as Hawaii Public Land Development Corporation, Office of Environmental Quality Control (Hawaii), and planning entities like Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

Notable Trails and Projects

The Club has maintained and promoted routes and projects in proximity to landmarks and protected areas including Diamond Head State Monument, Manoa Falls Trail, Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail, Pali Puka, Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, Waimea Canyon, Kokee State Park, Mount Kaʻala, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, Haleakalā National Park, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and cultural sites such as Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau and Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. Trail-building projects often coordinated with infrastructure agencies like Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, State Historic Preservation Division, Federal Highway Administration, and community organizations such as Friends of ʻIolani Palace and Friends of Hanauma Bay.

Publications and Resources

The Club produces guide materials, newsletters, and maps drawing on cartographic and archival resources from U.S. Geological Survey, Library of Congress, Hawaiʻi State Archives, Bishop Museum Library, and university presses such as University of Hawaiʻi Press. Publications reference standards from organizations like American Hiking Society, USGS Topographic Maps, National Park Service Ranger Handbook, and field guides authored by regional naturalists associated with Hawaiian Audubon Society and Honolulu Canoe Club. Educational packets and route descriptions are used by partner groups including Scout councils in Hawaii, Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance Foundation, and outdoor retailers connected to REI and regional outfitters.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Hawaii