Do you have a place that you keep going back to, again and again? For us, it’s the Hawaiian Islands. Over the last five years we’ve take four separate trips, visiting Maui, Kauai, and Oahu. Of these, Kauai is our favorite. It’s small, but diverse, and has some of the best hiking, swimming and snorkeling we’ve ever experienced.
We planned a trip back to Kauai this summer with the hopes of hiking the Kalalau trail, the 22-mile roundtrip trail along the stunning cliffs of the Na Pali Coast. Unfortunately, these dreams were quashed when Kauai experienced intense rain and massive flooding in April of this year, resulting in most of Kauai’s north shore being shut down.
The Kalalau trail has been indefinitely closed since April, so instead of doing one long hike, we opted to do a lot of short hikes in Kauai. Kauai feels like hiking heaven, where there is often a huge reward for not much effort. Even on these short and easy hikes, we enjoyed epic views, amazing waterfalls and fun swimming holes. These 6 amazing short hikes to do in Kauai are all kid-friendly and a great way to experience some of the best parts of the Emerald Island!
1. Queen’s Bath
It’s kind of a stretch to call the trail down to Queen’s Bath an official hike because it’s so short, but it can be pretty tricky to get down when it’s muddy. If it’s been raining at all (which it does pretty often, hence Kauai’s nickname of Emerald Island), then expect the red dirt path from the parking spots in a Princeville neighborhood down to the rocky shoreline to be almost like a slip n’ slide.
Queen’s Bath is like a natural seaside swimming pool, protected from the rough seas by the large lava rocks. The pool is deep enough for jumping in, and there’s actually quite a few fish, so bring some goggles!
A word of caution – do not swim if the waves are too high and there is a risk of being swept out to sea. While this place is often safe to swim and the water inside this large tide pool is calm, it’s a different story if it is stormy or high surf (usually in winter).
2. Kuilau Ridge Trail
The Kuilau Ridge trail was originally a fire road, so it’s a wide, well-maintained trail that follows a gentle incline. We had to scramble over a large, fallen tree a few minutes in, and it can be very muddy in spots (you’ll see start seeing this mud is a bit of a theme – just be prepared for a lot of mud), but other than these few obstacles it is a fairly easy trail. It’s two miles out-and-back through wild, green jungle and ends with a view of the Makaleha mountains.
Right before the end of the trail, there’s an open area with a few picnic tables. It’s a great place to bring a packed lunch and let those kids with crazy amounts of energy run around. We hiked a few minutes past this area out onto the ridge, where the roots beneath our feet were so thick it felt like we were walking on a springboard.
3. Waipo’o Falls Trail
Get ready to cue the Jurassic Park theme music, because this is a 3.2 mile out-and-back hike to Jurassic Falls. Technically it’s called Waipo’o Falls, but you’ll probably recognize this narrow 800-foot cascade while you’re cruising through Waimea Canyon.
Stop at one of the lookouts to see the waterfall before you reach the parking lot, because this trail actually ends at the top of the waterfalls, which means you don’t really get to see it up close. The scenery along this easy hike is still amazing with lookouts over the massive and beautiful Waimea Canyon, dubbed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
4. Ho’opi’i Falls Trail
The Ho’oip’i Falls trail leads you to not one, but two waterfalls. This trail is mostly flat since it follows the river. It’s shaded with massive trees, vines and ferns, which also means there are a lot of mosquitos (pack some repellant!).
This was my favorite hike of the bunch since there was cliff jumping at the first waterfall and a large rope swing landing in to a lagoon after the second waterfall. The river is deep but narrow at the first spot, and people were doing all kinds of back flips and crazy jumps into the water.
The waterfall at the end of the trail flows into a large pool that’s shallow on the edges, so you do have to work around a few rocks when swinging off the rope swing. While the trail is short (only about two miles round trip), you could spend all day here jumping, swinging and swimming!
5. Maha’ulepu Heritage Coastal Trail
The Maha’ulepu Heritage Coastal Trail starts at Shipwrecks Beach in Poipu, a popular spot on the south side of the island for surfing and body surfing. After crossing the beach, climb off the sand and onto ancient dunes that have hardened into limestone cliffs over millions of years.
Right after you hike up off the beach, the first ledge is a cliff jumping spot for a serious daredevil (it’s a pretty high jump). It’s also a great place to watch the sunset at the end of the hike if you don’t feel like living on the wild side. This trail follows the water’s edge for about two miles until ending at the Makauwahi caves.
Fossils, petroglyphs, and carved drawings have been found in these limestone cliffs, and you may even spot an endangered monk seal or a whale during the winter.
6. Kalalau Trail – First two miles
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Kalalau trail along Kauai’s Na Pali Coast is currently closed as they are still rebuilding infrastructure and repaving roads after the flooding in April. Make sure to check the current status of the Kalalau Trail.
Once the Kalalau trail is reopened, I would put hiking the first part of this trail at the top of your list of things to do in Kauai. While full 22-mile roundtrip hike requires a bit of prep (including a hard-to-get permit and camping overnight), the first two miles is doable and totally worth it. It starts at Kee Beach and ends at Hanakapiaai Beach.
This portion of the trail goes about 500 feet up into the side of the mountains with views of the bright blue waters below and the incredible cliffs and mountains of the Na Pali coast. After winding down some switch backs and crossing the Hanakapiai stream, you’ll reach Hanakapiai Beach. During the summer, this is usually a large sandy beach where you can relax. However, there are strong rip currents, so it is not considered safe to swim. During the winter, most of the beach is washed away from strong waves.
For other ways to experience this epic stretch of coastline, check out this post with 7 ways to explore Kauai’s Na Pali Coast. Or if you want to island hop to another Hawaiian island, we would suggest spending a few days taking in lots of outdoor adventures on Maui!
About Kelly Barcus from No Man Before
Kelly, Aaron and Hudson are three adventurous travelers in search of paths less wandered. They moved from Los Angeles to Cambridge, England shortly after their son Hudson was born, and took full advantage of their new home base to discover Europe. You’ll usually find them hitting the trails, hopping in for a swim, or in search of the best bakery in town. In 2017, they moved back to California and continue to explore both at home and abroad, sharing their travels on the blog No Man Before and Instagram.