HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) Na Ala Hele Trails and Access Program will mark National Trails Day, on Saturday, June 7, with a project to install a board walk in the first half-mile section of the Manoa Cliff hiking trail.

“National Trails Day is a nationwide celebration and recognizes the value and significance of outdoor recreational trails to our community and wellbeing,” adds Laura H. Thielen, DLNR chairperson. “I encourage the public to take advantage of the summer weather to ‘take a hike’ on DLNR’s diverse selection of trails across the state.”

Starting at 9 a.m. Na Ala Hele program staff, assisted by community volunteers and members of the Hawaiian Ultra Running Team will install a board walk made of recycled plastic lumber mounted on steel posts along several hundred feet of erosion prone trail. Work will finish by about 5 p.m.

“This project supports our trail program’s restoration goals and will really improve a seasonally muddy and poorly draining section of one of the most popular forest hiking trails on O‘ahu,” said Curt Cottrell, Na Ala Hele program manager. “Hikers are usually forced to walk through the mud or widen the trail by trying to walking around the mud puddles. Thanks to our volunteers, we will make a nice board walk to keep everybody above and out of the mud,” he said.

“Even though we are working on the start of the trail, it will remain open and hikers will be able to get past,” Cottrell said.

Trail crew and volunteers will carry in the materials, help pound in anchor posts, attach all sections of boardwalk, bolt stringers and screw down decking, and apply a slip proof metal surface on top.

The Manoa Cliff Trail, part of the Honolulu Mauka trails system, is 2.3 miles long, and at an elevation of 500 feet, traverses the Ko‘olau mountains through thick, partly native forest.

For information about this trail, and other state-maintained forest trails under the Na Ala Hele trails system, and important safety guidelines, go to www.hawaiitrails.org.

DLNR reminds hikers that statewide weather forecasts predict a dry summer and vegetation may be dry. Hikers, campers and hunters should exercise caution to prevent wildfires on trails and in camping or hunting areas.