28 Feb Bucket List: Hanakapi’ai Falls + a preview of the Kalalau

Posted at 22:41h in Beaches of Kaua'i, Hiking, Life on Kaua'i Hawaii, What we did today by

We gambled with the weather and booked permits for Hanakapi’ai Falls on Tuesday at Haena State Park on the north shore of Kauai. Aaron and I have been trying to schedule this hike with our market friend, Jenny since January. The trail is steep, rocky, and can be very very challenging if it’s muddy or raining. Since the trail is not far from Waialeale – the wettest spot on earth – it’s frequently about to rain, just rained, or raining in the area and too risky to go. This week, we had a couple days of mostly dry weather and since it was Mom’s last week on Kauai we decided to just go for it! Luna from the farm also joined us.

We woke up early and left the farm by 7:15 am in order to make it to Haena State Park by shortly after 8. While we were having a quick breakfast, a quick rainstorm came and went, followed by a rainbow with the rising sun. We took it as a good sign and stuck to the plan. We ended up chasing rainbows the whole westward way to the park, and felt reassured by the blue skies to the north over the ocean and east. 

Once we got to the park, the rain continued for a while as we waited for Jenny. Finally it abated and we were ready to begin about 8:45a. We walked to the trailhead and our excitement about finally seeing the Napali Coast and Kalalau trail was palpable throughout the group, even though Luna and Jenny had done this hike before. 

The trail wound up a steep, rocky  path for the first mile, gaining 600ft of elevation with amazing views of Ke’e Beach and perfect turquoise water. 

Looking back towards the trailhead which began at Ke'e Beach.

The hike only got better from there. We got our first glimpses looking west at the famed Napali Coast. Steep cliffs rose out of the ocean and we could hear such thunderous waves they almost sounded like distant rifle gunshots. The trail was wide, well maintained with structural aids to prevent massive erosion. We were pleasantly surprised after hearing many warnings about the conditions of the trail being very difficult when wet or muddy. 

The trail begin declining again, leading down towards Hanakapi’ai Beach, eventually bringing us to cross another questionable factor of the hike: Hanakapia’ai Stream. The river swells to dangerous heights with recent rains, and had been impassable only a few days prior when the northern side of the island received 9″+ of rain in three days. 

Heading down from 600ft back to sea level during the 2nd mile of the hike...

We were happy to see a very crossable, low level Hanakapi’ai Stream when we reached the bottom! Hiking boots came off in favor of Keens for easier time crossing. 

Hanakapi'ai Stream looking upriver
Hanakapi'ai Stream looking downriver to the ocean

We were officially at Hanakapi’ai Beach and halfway done with the hike! Jenny and Luna both felt the first 2 miles were hardest, with long, steep inclines, so morale was high that we reached the beach in about under 90 minutes. We took a 15 minute break to eat snacks and enjoy the perfectly empty beach and blue blue ocean water. 

With renewed energy we tackled the second half the hike, following Hanakapi’ai Stream up the valley, crossing it again several times. Most times were able to rock-hop across without changing footwear, making our progress pretty swift. We stopped on the way up to admire an old stone fireplace hearth still standing amidst and amazing bamboo grove. 

The trail was moderate and mostly easy to follow, with pink ribbons hanging from tree branches to notate where the trail crossed the river. Towards the last half mile, the trail gained considerable steepness and technical difficulty; climbing up large rocks, tree roots, and walking across narrow, often sloping ledges that rose 10-20 ft above the river’s edge. Keeping in mind the many advices we’d heard about the trail, we opted for hiking sticks, keeping an extended distance between us to watch for falls and give everyone space, and above all very cautious steps to avoid any mishaps.

We got our first glimpses of the falls in the distance about halfway up the remaining 1.6 miles of the hike. Our anticipation was growing as we sweatily surpassed other lovely swimming holes in the river to reach our destination. The mountain walls towered steeply over us and closed in our vantage points. The last half mile took as long as the mile preceding it as we delicately inched up the terrain. 

At last, after just under 3.5 hours of hiking and over 2,400 ft of elevation gain (due to going back down to sea level halfway), we reached the base of the falls in a huge dark pool of thundering water, surrounded on all sides by sheer 300 ft’ cliffs covered in lush vegetation. The water pushed wind and spray as soon as we were within 100 ft of the pool’s edge, and the noise from the falls drowned out all conversations as we shrieked with glee at the sight, and relief that we had successfully made it to the famed falls at last. 

Full view of the 300 ft Hanakapi'ai Falls

Panning video of the falls – super loud and windy!

Luna had a goal to swim under the falls and we happily obliged to join her. We changed into our swim suits and rushed into the water, so cold it took our breath away and gave a surge of adrenaline. Swimming to the base of the falling water took longer than expected and was difficult to do facing forwards, with the falls furious spraying wind and water in our eyes. 

The pool was deep and dark, mysterious and powerful. We dared not try to touch the ground or think too long about what various mythic beings might dwell at the bottom. As soon as we felt the water spraying our heads, we swam away back towards the water’s edge. The power of the water was thrilling and overwhelming, heart-pounding as we made our way out of the water. Only Aaron dared to swim all the way through the falls and touch the wall on the other side — giving my heart another skip as he disappeared into the wet blurry backside of the falls. He rested there regaining his composure for a minute before he swam back out to frontside of the falls. 

Jenny, Luna and I swimming out to the falls, video taken by Aaron. Aaron got his swim afterwards and I joined him for a second falls-dose!

We took photos, videos, and reveled in our accomplishment and awe at the natural wonder in front of us while we ate a lunch of peanut butter + banana sandwiches, hardboiled eggs, and cheese. On top of our thrilling swim under the falls — we were overjoyed that with the lack of tourists on the island due to the tightest quarantine restrictions in the U.S. — we had the waterfall and majority of the hike ENTIRELY to ourselves! Not sure how many people can say that, especially in recent years of Kauai’s surging popularity.

The way down was swift, and we found the treacherous terrain much easier going down. We drank up the lush forest one final time, and by the time we made it back to the final elevation gain of the final two miles, the weather was noticeably shifting. The views of the coast had changed drastically, the distant cliffs getting harder to see and the ocean turning a muted gray-blue. 

One final gift of the day was another rainbow – forming a flat line over the ocean towards our exit, as the rain drizzled down on us for the final mile. 

The rain picked up as we hiked the last steps down the trail, and was a full downpour by the time we reached the car. We laughed with shock as more people were still attempting to hike in at the mid afternoon hour with nothing but rain in the near forecast. Mama Kauai certainly blessed us thoroughly with a perfect hiking day on the Kalalau Trail!

3 Comments
  • Lindsey Williams
    Posted at 07:11h, 01 March Reply

    Looks incredible!! Bucket list item for sure!!

  • Adrienne
    Posted at 14:39h, 01 March Reply

    I remember it well – such a cool hike! Although I recall it being VERY crowded when we did it!

  • Linda Engel
    Posted at 12:26h, 03 March Reply

    Wow!!
    I can’t even imagine the splendor, although all your photos and film helped👍

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