Kalalau Trail Permits & Reservations Guide
To protect the pristine wilderness of the Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park, the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) strictly limits trail access.
A valid Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park camping permit is mandatory to hike anywhere past Hanakāpīʻai Beach (Mile 2), whether you plan to camp overnight or are simply day-hiking. > There are no waitlists, no physical lottery windows at the park, and absolutely no standby tickets. If you step past the two-mile mark without a valid permit printout in your pack, you face stiff fines, citation court dates, and immediate removal by state conservation enforcement officers.
90 Days In Advance
Permits are released precisely 90 days in advance of the first requested day of camping. The digital window opens at exactly 12:00 AM (Midnight) Hawaii Standard Time (HST).
$35 per person / day
Non-Hawaiʻi residents pay $35 per person, per day. Hawaiʻi residents with a valid state ID pay $25 per day. Note: You must pay for every individual in your party at the time of booking.
5 Nights Maximum
To ensure equitable access, the state caps any single wilderness permit itinerary at a maximum of 5 consecutive nights. You can only camp 1 night consecutively at the Hanakoa camping location.
How to Secure Your Permit: Step-by-Step Strategy
Because global demand vastly exceeds the small handful of daily permits issued, high-season windows routinely sell out within 60 to 90 seconds of opening. To stand a chance at securing your dates, use this field-tested staging protocol:
⏱️ Step 1: Calculate Your Target Date (and Account for HST)
Do not guess your booking night. Count exactly 90 days backward from your desired trail start date. Remember, the window opens at Midnight Hawaii Standard Time (Actually 12:01). You must calculate what time that is in your home time zone. Note: Hawaii doesn’t change times for Daylight Savings Time so you’ll need to take that into account. If you want to ensure your calucations are correct, ask Google.
💻 Step 2: Set Up Your Account in Advance
Do not attempt to create a profile at midnight. Go to the official booking portal at
🔄 Step 3: The Midnight Refresh
Log into the explore.ehawaii.gov portal at 11:55 PM HST on your booking night. Because this is a generic state reservation form, it will ask you generic questions that don’t explicitly say “Kalalau Trail” right away. Follow this precise menu sequence to find the correct permits before they sell out:
Step by Step Process
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Select the Park: Search for and select “Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park“ from the primary island/park dropdown menu. (Do not look for “Kalalau” yet).
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Set the Type: Choose “Camping“ as your reservation type.
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Input Your Dates: Enter your target arrival and departure dates.
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Select the Location: If spots are open, a secondary location menu will appear. Select “Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park“ again.
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Select the Facility (The Critical Choice): Choose “Kalalau“.
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Lock Your Party Size: Rapidly input your total group number, assign the names, and check out immediately. Securing that very first calendar date successfully locks the remaining consecutive nights of your permit block!
The Miloliʻi Trap: The portal may also show availability for Miloliʻi. Do NOT select Miloliʻi if you intend to hike. Miloliʻi is a completely separate, isolated valley that is only accessible by kayak during the summer months. It has absolutely zero land access to the Kalalau Trail, and holding a Miloliʻi permit will not legally allow you past the Mile 2 checkpoint on foot.
🛑 The Fine Print You Need to Know
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Permits are Strictly Non-Transferable: The name of the primary trip leader is locked directly to the permit at checkout. You cannot sell, transfer, or change the primary name later. Every member of your party must carry physical photo identification matching the names listed on your permit.
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No Refunds for Weather: The DLNR does not issue refunds if the trail is closed due to flash flooding, heavy surf, or hazardous weather conditions. Your safety is your personal responsibility.
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Commercial Shuttles are Separate: Your camping permit does grant you legal walk-in access to Hāʻena State Park, meaning you do not need to buy a separate GoHāʻena day-use entry pass. However, it does not reserve a seat on the North Shore Shuttle or guarantee a parking space. Those must still be arranged separately. After you get your permit, you can reserve an overnight parking space but you’ll need your permit number in order to do it.
Important Permit Notes
What if my target dates are completely sold out?
The Strategy: Do not give up immediately. While the initial 90-day window fills up instantly, cancelations do happen. The DLNR portal updates availability in real-time when someone drops a reservation. Check the calendar daily—especially 30 days out and 7 days out from your target window, as travelers frequently alter their itineraries as their trip dates approach.
Do children need their own permits?
The Rule: Yes. The state limits total trail capacity by individual bodies, not by tents or families. Every single human being in your backpacking party—regardless of age—must be accounted for on a paid, individual slot within your permit group.
Can I use my camping permit just to day-hike past Mile 2?
The Loophole: Absolutely. Many advanced trail runners and intense day-hikers buy a valid state camping permit strictly for the legal right to run to Crawler’s Ledge or Kalalau Valley and back in a single day without ever pitching a tent. As long as you have a printed permit on your person, you are fully compliant with the law.
Is there a waiting list or a physical lottery system?
The Reality: No. The state does not maintain a standby list or a physical lottery window at the trail head or the Lihue DLNR office. If the online portal shows zero availability, no staff member can manually override the system to issue you a pass.
Why are spots already disappearing before the 90-day window even opens?
The Answer: It looks like a glitch or favoritism, but it’s actually a quirk of the multi-day booking rules.
When a backpacker logs in 90 days ahead of their start date, the state allows them to book their entire itinerary at once—up to a maximum of 5 consecutive nights. This means that if someone books a 5-night trip starting on a Monday, they are locking down the inventory for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at the exact same moment.
Because those “extra” days roll forward into the future, they get claimed before those specific future dates ever hit their own official 90-day countdown window.
