The story of 27 backpackers that survived Kalalau during the storm of a century.... Story, Photos & Video by: Lani...
Kalalau Trail Articles
Is the Kalalau Trail open today?
One of the most common questions asked is "Is the trail open today?" or "Will the trail re-open by tomorrow?" Trail...
Places you need to visit according to National Geographic
National Geographic recently posted an article by Maryellen Kennedy Duckett naming Kauai's jaw-dropping views of the...
Bill and Nancy traveled to Kauai with friends, Terry and Bev. One of the highlights of the trip was a 2-day hike on the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast. Following is Nancy’s Journal of the hike.
Kalalau Trail listed among the Best Hikes in Hawaii
Not that we ever doubted it but The Kalalau Trail was listed atop the list of the best hikes in Hawaii in Outside magazine.
Here’s what they had to say about the Kalalau Trail:
Hiking the Na Pali Coast’s Kalalau Trail
https://kalalautrail.com/hiking-the-na-pali-coasts-kalalau-trail/My straw hat is flapping around my head like an entangled seagull, the gusting wind yanking the string it’s tied with right into the lump in my throat. My knees are weak, partly because of the long uphill climb behind me, and partly due to the gaping precipice in front of me. Four inches from my right foot, the crumbly terra-cotta trail opens to the wind, sun and gravity. Hundreds of feet below, the waves shred themselves against the sharp rocks, their booms taking several seconds to reach my throbbing eardrums.
Kalalau Hike
It began as two words typed into a web search engine: hiking and Kauai. I was planning a trip to Hawaii and wanted to visit the island of Kauai in spite of it’s claim to being home to the Wettest Place on Earth (a close second is Barry’s pants moments before we sit down to a high stakes cribbage match).
Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast
The Sierra Club rates the Kalalau Trail as one of the most difficult trails. I did not know that when I applied for a permit six months before flying to Kauai. I had heard that it was the most spectacular overnight hike, with amazing views of rocky cliffs on the edge of the ocean and deep jungles with countless flowers. I found both descriptions to be true.
The Na Pali Coast on a Time Budget
We were lucky. Three of us, John, Eric and I, went to Kauai in February 93 on a work trip. All expenses paid. It sounded great and it was great. Three weeks on the garden island, but only a few days without working to see and experience all that Kauai has to offer.
Getting To Kalalau
At six a.m. on a dazzling Kauai morning, my husband and I stood impatiently in Captain Zodiac’s storefront in the one-horse town of Hanalei, hoping that the drop-off boat to Kalalau would run.
We were on our way to one of the most remote, and most beautiful, beaches in the Pacific. There are no roads to Kalalau. It’s smack in the middle of a thirty-mile run of vertical sea cliffs, and devilishly hard to get to. The average person has two choices.