Top Hiking

Kauai is ideal for hiking, since more than ninety percent of the island is inaccessible by vehicle. You can find everything from hour-long hikes to weeklong ones that necessitate camping along the way. Here are a few favorites:

• Waipoo Falls: The three-hour round-trip hike starts just off the Puu Hina Hina Outlook, up Highway 550 on the west shore. You’ll walk through jungles of flowering orchids, ginger and tropical foliage to get the final reward, which comes in the form of an 800-foot waterfall with a natural pool at the bottom.
• Sleeping Giant Trail: A nearly two-mile trail on the east shore up Nounou Mountain (dubbed “the Sleeping Giant” because of its resemblance to one)—gaining 1,000 feet in altitude—it has a panoramic view at the top that makes all the effort worthwhile.
• Na Pali Coast State Park: This park on the northwestern shore is, simply put, the most beautiful stretch of wilderness in all of Hawaii. It covers twenty-two miles of high cliffs, beaches and hanging valleys, which are impassable by vehicle. An ancient eleven-mile-long trail leads to Kalalau, probably the last completely wild valley in Hawaii. You won’t be able to do the entire trail in a day, so unless you go in for a couple hours and turn around, plan on camping for at least one night.

TIP: Be aware that with all the rain on the northwest shore, the Na Pali Coast is often wet, muddy and, worst of all, slippery. It’s best to hike here after a few days of dry weather. If you must go after a rainfall, make sure to wear shoes with lots of traction and bring hiking poles to help you stabilize.