To the Beach and Back: The Kalalau Trail
My experience hiking one of the most dangerous trails in the world...
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step on to the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - Bilbo Baggins
This is the text message my husband sends to the family thread at 5 am as we make our way in the dark to the Kalalau Trailhead.
Kauai’s 22 mile Kalalau Trail leads from Ke’e Beach to Kalalau Beach along the Na Pali Coast. It is touted as the most beautiful and most dangerous hike in the United States (perhaps the world). While the world might be a bit of a stretch, there is certainly no shortage of threats along this journey. The narrow trail, three major stream crossings that can rapidly rise without warning, and falling rock were enough to make our families question our choices and our sanity.
I have had this trail on my list for a while (in fact I suggested it for our honeymoon), so when we found out the show I was working on would be coming to Broadway in 2024, I pitched going for our first wedding anniversary. When I saw 2 permits available for the following month, I jumped on them.
Because this trip was so spur of the moment, we only had 36 hours to complete our hike so we needed to get an early start if we wanted to enjoy the beach the next morning. There are a couple of options for how you can tackle the Kalalau trail — do the 11 miles in one push or take your time exploring the 5 valleys and spend the first night at “six mile campground.” We really had no choice but to do it all in one day (and then turn around and do it again the next), but tbh the 6 mile campground is very buggy and lacks the views so this method worked for us.
Pro Tip! Don’t be like us. Plan early and plan on at least 3 days so you can take in this magical little valley and all its splendor. If we’d had an extra day we would have still pushed through in one day and given ourselves a full day at the beach to explore the valley.
Two miles in you arrive at Hanakapi’ai Beach with the option to hike an additional two miles up the Valley to Hanakapi’ai Falls. You can hike to this point without a permit (though you will need a reservation to get into the park), but the real views begin after mile three where you need a permit to enter.
One of my favorite parts of the trail is that the beach is only accessible by foot and the people you do run into are all on the same grueling trek as you so you feel really supported the whole way.
As we passed the halfway point, I noticed my heartrate beginning to climb — we were approaching “Crawlers Ledge.” This is considered the most dangerous section along the Kalalau Trail, and was the section that my mother (and friends) were most terrified about. The ledge narrows to only 1 feet in some places with a vertical rock wall to your left and a steep drop down to the raging ocean on your right. We had watched countless videos of this portion of the hike to try and gauge whether or not it would be above our skillset. Here are my thoughts…most of it is fiiiiine. There is one section where I was terrified. That being said I have horrible fear of heights (isn’t it ironic?) and it was the largest pack I had ever hiked with. Here are some tips to help assuage your fears:
You MUST have trekking poles. This is a non negotiable in my book.
While there are many slippery sections of the trail, crawlers ledge is well packed and has very good footing
Do not attempt this trail if it’s raining (it will drizzle…but like…you know what I mean).
Just before and just after Crawler’s Ledge there are sections of loose trail that shows evidence of landslides in the past. I found this to be much scarier than Crawlers Ledge itself and it would be MUCH more dangerous in slippery conditions.
We were told by locals to unbuckle our our rucksacks on crawlers ledge and the river crossings. They said accidents happen because people lose their balance and it’s safer to be able to just drop your bag (better the bag than you)
All that said, if you are an experienced hiker and respect the trail, you have nothing to worry about.
Just when I was starting to question my life choices to do this hike in 36 hours we turned a corner and were greeted with the most magical view I have ever seen. From this point forward I just sang the Jurassic Park Theme until we reached our destination. Photos will never do justice how beautiful the hike is from here on out.
As we made our way down the valley we stumbled upon a stark naked woman who lives in the valley collecting fruit — we were close. Shortly after we reached Kalalau Beach. After setting up camp near the waterfall overlooking the beach, we freshened up and settled in for a sunset that will stay with me forever.
After sleeping under the stars in our hammock (highly recommend), we woke early the following morning to soak in as much of Kalalau Beach as we could before starting the 11 mile trek back to Ke’e Beach.
With the internet being what it is, Marco and I were both nervous the Kalalau Trail wouldn’t live up to its hype. We are happy to report it’s more special than you could possibly imagine — a pristine jewel along the Na Pali Coast that has left its mark on us both.
We said goodbye to the beach just before noon and made our way back to the trailhead. Our return journey lacked the excitement and anticipation we enjoyed on our way in, but we made good time and arrived back to the car (a little more sunburnt and sweaty) just as the sun was setting. We ripped off our boots, picked up 2 large shrimp burritos and made our way to the Koa Kea resort where we would spend the next two days lounging leisurely by the pool and reminiscing about the once in a lifetime journey we just completed.
PREVIOUSLY IN WANDERING:
I did this exact same thing! Two nights three day pass. It was so romantic at the beach. I will never forget the night we spent there.
Wow. Nice photos!