Hiking the Awaʻawapuhi Trail on Kauaʻi’s Nāpali Coast
Distance: 6.6 miles / 10.6 km
The Awaʻawapuhi Trail in Kōkeʻe on Kauaʻi is, undoubtedly, one of the best hikes in the world!
That being said, I personally put the Awaʻawapuhi Trail up among my most favorite trails I’ve done anywhere around the world, which also includes the Weeping Wall, the Kalalau Trail, Pēpēʻōpae on Molokai, and the Bear Creek Overlook in Montana!
This is all to say that if you have the opportunity to catch sunset on clear evening, you’ll easily be seeing one of the best sunsets you can experience anywhere on the planet!
Awaʻawapuhi Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Awaʻawapuhi Trail is located in a small parking lot off of Kōkeʻe Road, about 1.0 mile (1.6 km) before the first Kalalau Lookout.
Know that the parking lot/ trail can be fairly busy during the day, but the crowds tend to clear out the closer to sunset you plan to hike, which is what I recommend!
Google Maps Directions: Awaʻawapuhi Trailhead
Hiking the Awaʻawapuhi Trail
The Awaʻawapuhi Trail is typically an easy, light, and fast hike, as the majority of the trail from Kōkeʻe Road to the end is all downhill.
However, this obviously means that the hike back is all uphill, but if you hike Awaʻawapuhi for sunset, I think you’ll find that the uphill hike on the way back in the dark is much more tolerable when it’s cool out!
For the first three miles, it likely won’t make sense why I say that Awaʻawapuhi is one of the best hikes in the world, but just know that it’s all about the viewpoint at the end!
Other than this, there isn’t much to know about Awaʻawapuhi, except that the trail can be very muddy if it has recently rained in Kōkeʻe, which happens often.
This small viewpoint to the north should give you an idea if the clouds will be high enough to see the view at the end.
If it’s looking borderline, just know that the trail continues downhill, so there may still be a chance to see the view at the end!
On a different note, you may get lucky and see a Pueo (Native Hawaiian Owl), which I have been fortunate enough to see multiple times on the Awaʻawapuhi Trail.
At this split, go left to continue on the correct trail.
These mile markers truly help on the uphill hike back in the dark!
Toward the end of the Awaʻawapuhi Trail, there will be a few switchbacks, followed by the Nualolo Cliff junction shortly thereafter.
Awaʻawapuhi-Nualolo Cliff Junction
At the split for the Nualolo Cliff Junction, go right to continue toward Awaʻawapuhi viewpoint.
The Nualolo Trail to left leads to an alternative viewpoint, eventually leading to the Kōkeʻe Lodge.
Awaʻawapuhi
The very end of Awaʻawapuhi is the infamous Awaʻawapuhi ridgeline!
That being said, Awaʻawapuhi may be one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it is also one of the most dangerous! Simply put, one cannot fall, or it would almost certainly be fatal.
Furthermore, if you or anyone in your group isn’t comfortable with the exposure, don’t proceed past these signs. Awaʻawapuhi only gets more and more dangerous the further you hike out on the ridge.
Enjoy the view, but be sure to make every step count!
Native Plants on the Awaʻawapuhi Trail
Awaʻawapuhi is one of the few trails in Hawaiʻi that actually labels a number of the native plants along the trail.
A few that I noticed, both labeled and not, were Lapalapa, Kōlea, ʻŌhiʻa lehua, Kōpiko, ʻAʻaliʻi, and ʻĀlaʻa, to name only a few.
If you would like to learn more about these and many other native Hawaiian plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
