Backpacking the world-famous Kalalau Trail: The good & the ugly

The truthful tale of this world-famous bucket-list hike.

"The most beautiful hike on earth"

"Hands down the most incredible hike in America"

"One of the most famous hikes in the world"

These are just a few of the many accolades you'll read about Kalalau Trail with a quick google search.

I wanted to share not just the good, but also the reality about the Kalalau trail.

My partner Alex and I hiked this trail as a 5-day 4-night backpacking trip from Friday, September 17 to Tuesday, September 22 in 2021.

Permit process

In order to hike the Kalalau Trail, we needed to acquire permits which are only available 30 days prior to the hiking start date. This permit process is extremely competitive. They open permits up at 12AM HST, which was 3AM where we were at the time. We were unable to get permits the first two nights, and third time was the charm.

The permits were insanely expensive - $30 per person per night. The total ended up being $308 including taxes and fees for a 4-night backpacking trip for 2 people.

Information on how to acquire a permit to hike and camp out at Kalalau.

Getting to/from the hike

If you are someone who likes to plan in advance, read this guide first - How Do I get To The Kalalau Trail?

If you are someone who decided to plan things last minute like us...

The process (if you can call it that) of getting to the trailhead was a shitshow.

We left our surfboard and bags at our Airbnb's property manager's house, but needed to figure out where to park our old cargo van rental for the 5 days we were going to be backpacking. Based on an overnight parking recommendation from a local, we headed out around 7AM and left for the Waipu Park and Ride to leave our car there for the dates we were hiking. However, when we got there, the attendants there said it was for shuttle riders (mostly Hā’ena State Park day users) only. The shuttle service was booked out weeks in advance so we were unable to park there.

We drove around Hanalei until we found a parking spot in town without any "no overnight" signs. Make sure to double check with the local store owners to verify and also take photos of where you parked with the parking signs in case you get cited.

From there, we tried calling an Uber and Lyft - none were around at all. We called a taxi service who was unavailable for the day and he referred us to another taxi driver named Andy. Andy mentioned on the phone that most taxis don't like giving rides to Kalalau trailhead because the distance is too short to justify the gas money. He said he was only helping us out only because we were stranded. The ride ended up being $40 including tip.

We met others on the trail who hired drivers for $100 per person one way. Other people asked friends who lived on the island, others took shuttles, and others hitchhiked.

We got back by standing near the entrance of the parking lot and hitching a ride back with two girls on their way back to Hanalei.

The Trail

There are a ton of blogs and trip reports out there already so I won't dive deep into the hike itself. Overall, assuming if there is perfect weather - if you are an advanced hiker, I would rate this hike to be a 3/10 in difficulty. However, with the elevation gain, long distance, and precarious sections, I would rate it overall as 6/10.

We were fortunate to have perfect weather during the time we were there - highs of mid-80s and lows of 70s, with sunny but cloudy skies. We downloaded an offline map of the route, which helped since it's easy to get diverted by goat trails.

The 2 miles of the trail is pretty crowded. You'll be sharing the trail with dayhikers heading out to Hanakāpīʻai Beach from Ke'e Beach. Upon arriving at Hanakāpīʻai Beach, you'll be greeted by a lovely river flowing into the ocean. The shorebreak was pretty intense and the beach isn't swimmable. But there were plenty of people sunbathing and soaking in the river.

Side story: Cross the river carefully! I walked across too quickly, slipped, and my phone fell into the water. I didn't realize I had dropped my phone until 15 minutes afterwards. By that time it was completely waterlogged so I didn't have my phone for the rest of the time.

The rest of the trail was pretty uneventful to be honest. It brought us up and down in elevation through the forest, and up along the coastline. There were several nice little view points where you can see the blue ocean and dramatic coastline.

Crawler's Ledge: If you're reading this, I'm sure you've already seen videos and read other blogs describing crawler's ledge, the "very scary" section of the Kalalau Trail at mile 7. It honestly was not bad at all. Maybe they worked on carving out a wider path since the landslide shut down the trail these past few years, but when we went this time it was not an issue.

If you have a fear of heights however, then it's a different story. It does take you along the edge of a cliff, but it is wide enough (at least now) where you can walk on it normally.

There are several sandy sections before and after Crawler's Ledge that were more dangerous in my opinion. I actually slipped several times and fell on my ass - luckily it happened in areas away from steep hills. If you make a mistake and aren't moving slowly or watching your step, you could definitely slide to your death.

Finally after 12 miles, we made it to camp!

The Goods

If you want to experience the "best of Kalalau", I would highly recommend staying 3+ days at a minimum. Day one is just getting there and finding camp and resting up. Then there's the full day or two needed to explore the valley and forage for fruit, another day to swim out to Honopu Beach (if you're lucky), another day to relax by the river, and of course spending time with the amazing community out there.

The Valley

I would dedicate a day or two to exploring the valley and its gems. Bring your mosquito spray, water filter, sunblock, and a little bag for foraging fruit. We ate tons of lilikoi, guava, bananas, and a few mangos. There are a ton of trails that branch off the main trail that are worth exploring and lead to the many different gems of the Kalalau valley. I'm not going to spoil any secrets here, but I would definitely recommend following the main trail until you pass through a cut up palm tree.

Safety reminder: Make sure to always bring a headlamp in case you get lost and can't find your way back to camp.

Honopu Beach

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to swim out to Honopu Beach - a beach typically only accessible by boat. The week we were there, the shore and waves had shifted in a way where the beach was very exposed and we were able to walk all the way to the end of the cliff outcropping and swim out into the open water to swim around to the beach. The beach was one of the highlights of the trip - the 5-8 min open water swim was exhilarating, the beaches were pristine and isolated, there is a beautiful arch that you walk underneath that leads to a waterfall and another beach. I don't have any photos because we left the phone at camp.

SAFETY NOTE: only attempt this if it is swimmable, and you must be a competent swimmer in order to make this open water swim. It took about 5-8 minutes each way. One of the guys who had gone the day before had a panic attack halfway throughout the swim and was lucky enough to get rescued by a boat that happened to be passing by. We also ran into a guy on our hike in who had a big gash on his forehead because he swam too close to the rock outcropping and got slammed against the rocks.

Community

The community was the other highlight of the trip. People came and went everyday, but we bonded especially well with friends with a Hawaiian local named Rito Fun and two Israeli guys. We shared adventures, campfires, and wonderful sunsets together and wish we could have spend another month with them! My recommendation is to arrive knowing nothing and expecting nothing, but receiving everything! Say "YES" to people and open your mind and heart to those around. The communal vibe is just truly special, people shake off their societal norms and become free, and contagious generosity and kindness flowed throughout.

The Bad

When I think about backpacking to a remote and difficult to get to place, especially when there's a $300+ permit involved, I think it's more than fair to expect peace and solitude at the destination.

Let's just say it was the most jarring experience in "nature" I've experienced.

BOATS BOATS BOATS BOATS HELICOPTERS HELICOPTERS HELICOPTERS BOATS HELICOPTERS BOATS BOATS HELICOPTERS HELICOPTERS BOATS BOATS HELICOPTERS

That's the short story of it.

The longer story is that you should go to Kalalau expecting to hear the whirr of helicopters all throughout the day and boat-goers going by gawking at you while you try and enjoy the beach you spent hours backpacking to.

But the worst were the "boat people". Apparently boats are legally allowed to visit Kalalau Beach and people are allowed to camp as long as they have a camping permit. "Please note: It is not legal for anyone to provide commercial boat transport to drop off passengers at Kalalau or Milolii camping areas. Please do not enlist the services of illegal operators, who contribute to overcrowding and excess trash in the park."

Clearly this is not regulated well because we witnessed a good amount of people getting dropped off with all of their supplies floating in trash bags by boat. This was extremely disappointing to see after we hiked 12 miles in (and paid $$ for our permits) - we assume most of them didn't pay for permits either and we verified this after these two women who camped near us told us they were dropped off by boat and didn't have permits.

The commercialism and people being lazy and breaking the law - bringing in their heavy camping chairs, coolers full of beers and food, and other fancy gear - really took away from the magic of Kalalau. The worst part is, they would take up some of the best camping spots and stay out there for weeks without a permit. It felt shameless and completely disrespectful to the process put in place to protect the place from overcrowding. We camped far away from the "boat people" so they wouldn't ruin our experience.

We also saw this sign on our way out - people were clearly making money off of this and propelling this shitty behavior.

We also witnessed a woman, another "boat person", get rescue helicoptered out. She apparently was dropped off by boat, and was too weak to even swim onto shore. She spent the next 2 days lying comatose in her tent, until people started checking in on her. Someone ended up radio-ing in help using their sat phone until rescue helicopter came and took her out. I truly hope she is okay and recovered fine, but honestly if you can't make it by foot to such a remote area - you probably shouldn't come at all. Also of course, the girls in the video (people who were on the same boat as the woman) gotta get their photo op in with the helicopter.

Overall Thoughts

Kalalau is definitely a magical place, but really only made so by the community and the beauty of the landscape and remoteness of places like Honopu beach. Do not go expecting a peaceful solitude trip in nature - you will be around other campers, you will be hearing helicopters, you will be seeing boats and boats and boats.

My good friend Joy put it perfectly: "having the spirit of Kokua. it's a Hawaiian word but also concept that many locals and Hawaiians try to live by. Selflessness and being considerate of other: people, communities, and the land. So people, especially tourists, should come to Kalalau with respect and personality responsibility to not trash the place or encourage illicit behavior".

Do as Rito Fun said "expect nothing, and receive everything" and you'll have a wonderful time.