Warning! This outing is for very experienced hikers & kayakers. Conditions and weather can cause dangerous or deadly conditions.
The Kalalau Trail on Facebook
In May of 2013 some friends and I did a kayak tour of the Na Pali Coast of Kauai. We had done this trip as a hike a few years earlier and realized at that time that kayaking was a much easier way to go. We planned to kayak from Haena to Kalalau Beach, stay two nights, then paddle on to Milolii Beach — reachable only by boat. We were launching very early in the kayaking season and we were aware the seas could come up.
We had arranged for kayaks with Na Pali Kayak in Hanalei. They were great to work with and I recommend them. We are experienced kayakers who have not spent much time in big waves, so our plan was to take a guide as far as Kalalau Beach, where the guide would then split off and complete the day with a group of day-tripping kayakers. This plan worked well for us as we were able to get a lot of local input without having to camp the whole time with a guide. We had arrangements to be picked up three days later at Polihale.
We launched at Haena Park. Conditions were very calm. Waves of 1-2 ft were expected that day and the next. The paddle from Haena to Kalalau is beautiful and so much faster than the hike had been. We explored one sea cave along the way.
At Kalalau, our guide Annie landed first and then guided each of our boats in. During our landing one big wave rolled in and we ended up with a pretty exciting crash landing onto the shore. Kalalau has a very strong shore break so landing can be tricky. We set up camp in the trees behind the beach.
Kalalau is a perfect place to camp. Although there were quite a few people there when we arrived, as you can see the beach was wide open. Kalalau hosts a large group of resident and semi-resident campers but it never really seems crowded. The only complaint I have is that the resident campers — who are there illegally — take up all of the best campsites.
This large cave near the end of the beach is mostly dry and often houses campers. Actually if you were to camp here you could get by with very little gear and that appears to be what some campers do.
We met many other campers at Kalalau. This group hiked in one day and planned to hike out the next day — very rough itinerary! They looked cold in the rain so we invited them over for some of our Black Onyx coffee. While our first day and night were totally dry, we had a fair amount of rain after that.
I slept out one night on the beach. An early moon kept the stars away until around 3AM or so, but after that the sky was starry and clear. This long exposure was taken looking back from the beach.
For me the high point of this great trip was our visit to Honopu Beach. This beach and valley are only accessible by sea. Boats are not allowed to land, so to visit you have to swim in to shore. Some people swim from Kalalau, but this early in the season the beaches are smaller and the swim is longer. We chose to kayak over and stay offshore, with one person from each boat swimming in at a time. There are really two beaches, separated by a huge rock arch, with a beautiful green valley stretching away from the coast. There is also a much larger waterfall than those at Kalalau. The entire area has a mystical feel to it and I was happy to see that it was pristine — no trash, not even any footprints other than our own. We were very lucky to have been able to visit. While we were here the rain fell constantly, which felt good for the guys waiting in the boats.
On the morning we were supposed to leave Kalalau, the waves were coming in much faster sets, and with occasional larger sizes. We watched another group of kayakers make many attempts to launch, and also tried to launch ourselves, but none of us could launch. A guide from our outfitter, who was paddling by with the day-tripper crew, swam in to help but he was also unable to get anyone launched. He suggested that the other group hike out, and that we check conditions the next morning and hike out if needed. He indicated that an unpredicted wind swell was making conditions unusually tricky.
Conditions the next morning (at dawn) were even worse, and we packed up for the trail. The outfitter had agreed to pick up the kayaks after the swell died down, which turned out to be three days later. We were not totally prepared for the long hike out. All I had were water shoes, although I had hiked in them before with no trouble. We had two dry bags with backpack straps, and two day packs, so we loaded what we could, carried some other stuff in our hands, and gave away some stuff. This very nice lady was a new resident at Kalalau. She had come for a day and stayed, with no tent, sleeping bag, or anything else for that matter. She was happy to get some of these items! We also left her some leftover wine and a whole pineaple that we had planned to eat at Milolii. I think she probably made some new friends that day.
Just like the last time I hiked out, the hike out was really enjoyable. It’s a hard hike for sure, and the gear issues did not help, but it is also one of the most beautiful hikes anywhere and it is hard not to enjoy every minute of it. Once we were out I hitchhiked to get our car at Haena, and the first ride I got showed me a freshwater spring right off the road. A perfect end to a long day.
Our kayaks were ferried back three days later. I retrieved some of our gear — stuff that we had called the “hope to see again” pile — and headed off to catch a flight back to the mainland.
