Breathtaking spot for a hike on the island. Plenty of waterfalls to see. A lot of walking up hill…read moreand big stairs, so be prepared it's not just a flat nature walk.

Take the tour to take you all the way to the fern grotto. The beauty of this place is being in…read moretouch with nature. As you walk you may hear the birds chirping. There are many plants that were introduced to the island, with beautiful flowers. Handicap accessible. Low intensity walking.

We were so disappointed with the shuttle system. The driver was aggressive on the narrow roads. She…read moredrove fast and blew the horn at pedestrians. It was raining hard on our day and I asked if we could reschedule or get a refund and the attendant rudely said "No, check the website. You get several warnings about no refunds." We get to the dropoff inside the park and there were 100 empty parking spaces (but on the website the option to drive in and park was "not available." ) There were 40 people waiting under a shelter for the shuttle to take them back. Our time was cut short by the rain and cold which is just tough luck but as we were leaving there were now 60 people under the shelter waiting for the shuttle. The bathrooms were filthy. Everyone looked miserable. We didn't even see any fish while trying to snorkel (30 mins). Ninety dollars ($45/each) is not a small fee and it was not worth it. If you are hiking the trail then you have no choice but if you just want a good beach...Just go to Aninni Beach. It's free and we swam with turtles! #BooGoHaena.

If I had a chance to avoid visiting this place, I absolutely would have. Unfortunately, this park…read moreis home to the legendary Kalalau Trail, so there's really no way around it. Even if you're only hiking to the waterfall, you're still required to pay $40 per person just to enter the park. And I have a lot of questions about that. 1. We booked the earliest possible shuttle and paid for it, but we ended up leaving 15 minutes late because we were waiting for other people -- which meant we completely missed sunrise. 2. The park itself is dirty. The restrooms are in terrible condition, and there wasn't even toilet paper. You're charging $40 for entry and can't provide the absolute basics? Don't even get me started on the lack of water stations or hand sanitizer near the bathrooms. All of this is standard in California state and national parks, and they don't charge anywhere near this much. 3. On the way in, we were told about drop-off and pick-up locations along the route. In reality, the shuttles basically never stop there. We got off at one of those spots to grab coffee and then couldn't get back on -bus after bus just drove past us. After waiting for an hour, one shuttle finally stopped to drop off a passenger, but there wasn't enough space for the two of us. So yes, when leaving the park, they don't even plan to leave room to pick people up. Be prepared to walk 5 miles. Of course, the views are incredible, and even with this level of service, the park is still worth seeing. That said, I'd strongly recommend getting as close as possible to town or the beach before the park opens and then walking in on your own. Bring water, wet wipes, and refillable bottles. If you're worried about drinking the water, bring purification tablets -despite park staff insisting the water is absolutely not safe to drink. We drank it and were totally fine. Just go prepared and manage your expectations.

Beautiful beach with nobody around. After climbing over quite a few rocks and boulders you get to a…read morebeautiful beach. The sand is soft but I do highly recommend water shoes. In the water it's mostly small rocks. If you explore the other side of the cove the rocks in the water are larger, sharper and slippery. Really fun beach with lots of crabs and coconuts. The snorkeling by the rocks on the far side of the cove is not fantastic but still worth doing. Lots or larger tangs and butterfly fish.

A really nice and secluded beach. There's a hike, but it's very easy hike to the beach. The water…read moreitself has a lot of rocks, so it may not be the best place to swim, but it's nice if you want to be alone and relax.

Beautiful. You absolutely have to take a boat ride down the coast if you are in Kauai at least…read moreonce in your life.

I'd like to be transparent, I'm a little bit confused about a few things…read more.. I had reservations made ahead of time to hike the famed Kalalau Trail 2 miles to Hanakapi'ai Beach and another 2 miles to Hanakapi'ai Falls. Upon driving to the Kalalau Trailhead, I entered Ha'ena State Park. I thought to myself, "oh, wow, cool, I didn't even know Kalalau Trail was within a state park!". Now, lol, after parking my car and reviewing the Kalalau Trail hiking guidelines, it was time to venture over to Hanakapi'ai Beach. Not even 1 minute into the trail, there was a clear sign stating I was now entering Na'Pali Coast State Wilderness Park. What??? But I thought Kalalau Trail was part of Ha'ena SP?! So both? What's the difference between Ha'ena SP and Na'Pali Coast SP? I guess the only thing to do is venture over to Google and search for the answer... The only reasonable solution I discovered on Google is Ha'ena SP hosts the parking lot for Kalalau Trailhead. But, once you start hiking on Kalalau Trail land, you're officially now entering and located within Na'Pali Coast boundaries. And with this info...I believe there are more options for activities within Ha'ena State Park, although I never got around to do any exploring. Now, if you're specifically visiting here for the Kalalau Trail, I'm convinced it's Na'Pali Coast territory, lol. Finally, trying to get to the bottom of this strange mystery, is when visiting Kokee State Park on the opposite side of the island of Kauai, most of the overlooks and lookout points there showcased the Na'Pali Coast. But I guess for Kokee SP, you're not actually inside Na'Pali Coast State Park land, you're just admiring the views and sceneries of the Na'Pali Coast from high above. Lol, yes...maybe I should have been better prepared ahead of time. With all this said...let me quickly return to the Kalalau Trail and provide a few highlights about the experience and what you can expect inside Na'Pali Coast State Wilderness Park... - While hiking to Hanakapi'ai Beach, a lot of the beautiful Na'Pali Coast setting will be revealed. There were moments to take a break from the trek to appreciate the landscape. - When the clouds went away and the sun shined, the coastline illuminated the Pacific Ocean waters. - You'll also capture a vantage point of Kauai's lush green island vegetation and rain forest appearance. In total, that's what I believe made Na'Pali Coast State Wilderness Park rewarding. It's hiking among nature until Kauai's colorful coast comes into appearance. The surroundings exude that vintage, tropical, Hawaiian image that tourists anticipate when visiting. At the time of visiting Kauai, I found it difficult to understand whether I was hiking Kalalau Trail within Ha'ena SP or Na'Pali SP. After completing some detailed internet research, I'm confident the popular hike is connected with Na'Pali. And with that understanding, Na'Pali Coast is a winning state park.

If there has been rain recently be sure to look to the mountains that form the backdrop of Hanalei…read moretown. Namolokama Mountain is said to have up to 23 waterfalls which can be seen from town after a heavy rain. YELP 365 - 322/365

We spent our first day in Hanalei bay and the view of the falls was very surreal. It had rained the…read moreday leading up to that day and the waterfalls were very visible from almost anywhere in Hanalei. One of the best photo opportunities not from air or boat in my opinion

Probably my favorite place on planet earth. Big flat beach with fine grain golden sand. Gentle…read morewaves. Warm water for swimming. Never crowded. Close to Hanalei town to grab a meal and do the tourist tour looking in all the shops. Bambie and me visit at least once a year, sometimes twice. We stay for two weeks. Every day we just pitch our big sun shade, plop down in our chairs and stay for 10 hours. Peaceful. After I die let's spread my cremated ashes here.

This beach is huge. It's part of Hanalei Bay which is a huge bay on the north side of the island…read more You drive through some neighborhoods to get here and then park on the street in the neighborhood. We were going to spend some time here on our last day, but we changed our mind once we got here. It was incredibly windy and cold. There was also a lot of debris on the beach. I'm sure on a nicer day we might have enjoyed this beach, so definitely check the weather before coming here.

Great secluded beach near Haena state park. The wet caves are amazing structures created by natureread more

Need a $5 ticket to get in to Ha'ena State Park. NO CELL SERVICE at location so get tickets…read morebeforehand.

I don't even know how to properly describe this place. I had seen pictures of the Na Pali Coast…read morebefore, but seeing Kalalau Valley from the boat was completely different. The way the mountains curve and fold into each other is probably what stood out to me the most. You also have the waterfalls coming down the mountains and the ocean right beside all of it, so there is just so much going on everywhere you look. I think that was pretty incredible being able to see the coastline up close, with the cliffs rising straight out of the ocean, is something I had never experienced before. It's one of those places where you take picture after picture and then realize none of them actually capture what you're looking at. Kauai is beautiful everywhere, but this part of the island is on another level.

A group of coworkers and I hiked to Kalalau in September 2011 during the labor day weekend. The…read moreNapali coast is amazingly beautiful, but what an intense hike! I'm not a super avid hiker--I hike maybe once every 2 or 3 months. My coworkers are pretty experienced hikers, so I found myself out of my league on this advanced hike! You can do portions of the trail or the whole 11 miles all the way to Kalalau. The most common thing to do it hike to 2 miles into the beach, where the trail head for Hanakapiai waterfall is. These first 2 miles have pretty intense elevation changes, so pack lightly. The falls is an additional 2 miles in off of the main trail. If you keep going, you need to get permits from this site: https://camping.ehawaii.gov/camping/all,c-search.html At around the half-way point between the trailhead and Kalalau, you'll cross Hanakoa stream, which is the start of the trail to Hanakoa Falls. The trail was marked with pink flags when we went, but I don't expect those to last forever. There's also a camping grounds and composing toilet at this point, for those who want to hang around here. I'd recommend bringing some bug spay or at least a mosquito net if you're planning to set up camp. If you're hiking to Kalalau, grab at least a couple of liters of water at Hanakoa, because there's no guarantee of water sources beyond this. We crossed a few small streams, but they were pretty sparse and might not be flowing if there's no rain. Next is where the trail got INTENSE and my mettle was really tested. Up until this point, the trail was difficult but at least I would consider it totally safe. Beyond Hanakoa falls, you better be comfortable with heights, have some good hiking boots, and have a well-balanced pack. There are points where you're walking along a narrow ledge with nothing to hold on to with the wind whipping in your face. My coworkers were fine with this portion, but I found myself thinking, "if I die here, I'm gonna be PISSED!" My coworker appropriately named this portion "Mordor" because of the volcanic rock and impending sense of doom. After you cross Mordor, you're home free in terms of safety, but you still have a couple more miles to go. Once you get to Kalalau, you can set up camp in the trees, in the caves, or on the beach. There's a waterfall where you can shower (use only biodegradable soaps!) and a composting toilet. It was such a relief to finally get there! I set up tent and immediately crawled in for an hour nap before I arose to the smell of camp food and whiskey. I highly recommend this hike for those who are avid hikers, but definitely caution those who are just beginners like me. Do your research!