On June 17, 2019 the Kalalau Trail opened back up after being closed for 14-months. I immediately secured a permit, purchased a flight and was at the trail head the next day.
Getting to the trail
I arrived in Lihue around Noon on Tuesday. I knew ahead of time that there was going to be overnight parking issues. For the heck of it, I checked Uber and the cost was going to be $80.15 to drop me at the trail head. A Taxi was even more expensive. I rented a car for $30 and was on my way.
There was still lots of roadwork along the North Shore. We were stopped by construction workers several times as they let cars travel one direction at a time. Some spots looked like they had done a lot of work and others still looked like the flood happened recently.
As I got closer and closer to the end of the road I began to see new “No Parking – $200 fine” signs along the roadway. Plus, after entering Hāʻena State Park, I saw signs warning that reservations are needed or I’d have to turn around.
I arrived at the end of the road at 2:36. There was the new 100 car parking lot. A parking attendant was stopping each car asking to see their reservation. It was too late for me to start on the hike and I still needed to solve my parking problem so I just checked things out and returned to Hanalei for the evening.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out in Hanalei. I checked out all the stores and met a lot of new friends. My backup plan for my car was to pay the hotel I had that night a small fee to keep my car with them for a couple extra days but I ended up meeting a new friend in Hanalei that arranged for me to park at a private home while I was on the trail.
My intention was to start early and get to the trail head as soon as I could but I made more new friends at the hotel and ended up having breakfast with them and talking a lot longer than I should have. I then parked my car and got a ride to the trail head. There are usually 3 parking attendants on duty at any one time (although there were only 2 when I showed up).
I was on the trail by 9:30am. Having hiked Kalalau before, the first two miles of the trail to Hanakāpīʻai Beach was as expected.
For those of you who have not hiked it before, and are hiking the first 2-miles, the first half-mile is a steep incline. (I recommend the use of hiking poles. I personally would never do the trail without them). You are hiking over rocks with big steps along with dirt, mud and across small streams. The half-mile marker will be at the top of the hill. You’ll be able to see where you came from (Ke’e Beach) as well nice views of the cliffs ahead. The next half-mile is one of my favorite parts of the trail. There’s very beautiful views and it’s relatively flat for a little while. But eventually you get to the hills again. There are steep uphills and steep downhills leading to Hanakāpīʻai Beach.
Note: If you looked you could see that there was new cement under some of the stairs and rocks were moved or buried a bit to keep them sturdy. Stopping to take several photos along the way I made it to Hanakāpīʻai Beach at 10:50am.
Hanakāpīʻai Beach
Hanakāpīʻai Beach is a great resting spot. It’s a pretty large stream. You’ll either walk through the stream or you’ll have to be a good jumper to jump the rocks. There’s composting toilets and plenty of room to kick back for a bit. This is the destination for many people. You don’t need a permit (You just need a reservation, $1 per person or $5 per car) to hike to this point.
From here you can:
- Relax for a bit and then head back to Ke’e Beach.
- Head up to Hanakāpīʻai Falls (The trail is steep and it can be hard to follow. Sometimes there are forks in the trail and you don’t know which way to go. Just stay close to the stream and don’t get too far away from it.) A permit is not needed to hike to the falls either.
- If you have a permit, you can continue to Hanakoa or Kalalau. A permit is required whether or not you plan to camp overnight.
After Hanakāpīʻai the trail can get harder, steeper, harder to follow and more dangerous. I made the mistake of wearing shorts. The trail is very overgrown and I found myself pushing my bare ankles through bushes and weeds. I still have cuts and gashes all over my legs. If you’ve been on the trail before, it hasn’t changed much. It’s as beautiful as ever as you hike along the Nāpali.
If you have not hiked the trail before, you’ll find yourself hiking switch-backs up and down as you go from the high cliffs near the ocean to the lower canyons and streams. From Hanakāpīʻai Beach you’ll hike steadily uphill until you get to over 800 feet then back to 500 and up to 700 and down to almost 300 then back to 600. It’s a very tough hike because of the constant elevation changes.
The first half of the trail seems to have more trees and shade but as you get closer to Kalalau, the shade gets rarer and rarer. You’ll run into many water crossings, especially in the canyons. Some of them are just mud, while some others are great for filling up your CamelBak’s with. Make sure to treat the water for bacteria like leptospirosis and other safety issues. I used tablets and a filter system.
A couple notable spots along the trail:
Many people hike all the Kalalau in one day. That is not me. I’m not in great shape anymore. Luckily for people like me there is Hanakoa. It’s a little more than half-way to Kalalau at the 6-mile mark. It’s not a place that you’d want to search out to go visit. It’s merely a place to rest overnight. It has composting toilets and some shade to sleep in. You can hike up to Hanakoa Falls which are about a half-mile up from Hanakoa.
Around Mile-7 you’ll run into what is called Crawler’s Ledge. I’m not a fan of heights but I’ve never had a problem crossing it. It’s not as scary as GoPro footage makes it seem to be. Unless it’s raining and muddy, I don’t think it should be a problem for most people. They have also put some work into making it a little less scary than it used to be.
For those of you who have not experienced it yet, the trail is one spectacular view after another where 4,000 foot amazing cliffs, beautiful beaches and the deep blue ocean meet. You’ll see Kalalau Beach about a mile and a half before you get there. It’s an amazing site. When you get to “Red Hill” you’ll know you are almost there.
Gear:
In the past I’ve hiked with way too much in my backpack. I chose to go light weight this trip. A small fleece sleeping bag and camp pillow. Water (with purifier), food, cameras with charger, hiking poles, headlamp, small first aid kit, bug spray, & sunscreen. You’ll regret it if you take things that you don’t need.
Ultimately the trail is as beautiful as always. I had a great trip and met lots of great people along the way. I always love talking to people on the trial: people from all over the world who come to visit this wonderful place.
Additional Photos:
After the hike I took additional photos of the area from a boat and helicopter. I still have a lot of photos to go through so more photos will probably land on this page as I sort through them all.
Not very realistic but fun to look at.
Kalalau Trail Logs
If you have a taken a recent trip on the Kalalau Trail and have stories and/or photos to share, contact us and we can post them. Logs help others to plan their trips.