Hanakoa Falls

It's a day hike to Hanakoa Falls; round trip just short of 14 miles with over 5000' of elevation change. I used slightly over 3 liters of water on the hike. You start the hike at Ke'e Beach at the start of the Kalalau Trail. The first two miles is the hike to Hanakapai Beach and requires no permit. The rest of the hike requires a permit, but there is no fee. The hike to Hanakapai Beach has 7 hills; the first of which is almost half the distance to a great overlook of both Ke'e Beach to the right and the Napali Coast to the left. You have to cross the Hanakapai stream near the beach. I take off my boots and walk through the water in water shoes. You can cross on rocks, but many have slipped off and injured their ankles. You start the permitted part of the trail just across the river. It is sort of marked. The trail splits with the mauka trail to the left going to Hanakapai Falls and the trail to right heading up the hill. The first 1/2 mile is straight up the hill with an elevation change of around 600' using a series of switchbacks. The next 4 miles are a series of hills and valleys ending at the Hanakoa shed. There are usually a lot of mosquitoes here and possibly some hikers spending the night, but most push on through to Kalalau. To get to the falls trail, cross the Hanakoa stream and head about 100 yards toward Kalalau and you will see a marked trail on the left. The trail back to the falls is just under a mile. The trail is not marked, but easier than most trails on Kauai to follow. The last part is not maintained at all. The falls are much higher than Hanakapai, but normally with less volume. There is a great swimming hole at the base. As with any falls in Kauai, it is recommended not to get immediately under the falls for the real possibility of being hit by falling rock. The most difficult part of the hike back is immediately after the Hanakapai beach with the first 3 of 7 hills to climb.