A few months back, I wrote about how I was dreaming of Kaui. I was taking my son there for his first visit, and I wanted to hike the Kalalau trail of the Napali Coast with him. I knew there were going to be some challenges in taking a child out for that hike. It’s strenuous, slippery, and along some steep cliffs.
But I’m a determined sort of woman-on most days-so I took him anyway.
We hiked it in the safest way possible. That is, we only hiked for about an hour. The first part of the trail was rocky and slippery. My son had an easier time of it than I did. The fact that I was hiking in my flip-flops probably didn’t help, but I will go to the ends of the earth with my flip-flops on. It was also very, very windy that day. So my son’s hat flew off the side of the trail. Neither my sister, nor I, felt like we were trail-savvy enough to hike down the side of the cliff to get the hat. So we gave it up as lost.
We stopped for a bit to watch the pod of dolphins leaping out of the water below. I don’t know if I will ever forget the sight of those dolphins, in the waters of the Napali coast, sparkling under the morning sun. Actually, I know I won’t forget sharing that experience with my son. 
After the long climb up, we made it to a level part of the trail. Here is where you get your first sweeping glimpse of the Napali Coast. We took our pictures, took in the views, and got my son’s hat delivered to us via two young hikers. I’m so glad that there were two more sprightly individuals hiking the trail behind us, or my son wouldn’t have gotten his favorite hat back. We saw one other family hiking the trail with younger children, but most of the other hikers were the young, extreme adventure sort of people. They actually had on real hiking shoes, and passed us by like we were the old station wagon holding them up on the highway. We got back on the trail, attempted to swing on some vines like Tarzan, and made it back to Ke’e beach in time for a midmorning nap.
Here are my tips for hiking the Kalalau trail:
1. I cannot stress how important it is to go before 9 in the morning, mostly because the parking area for the Kalalau trail is very small. You don’t want to have to do any extra hiking from the overflow parking.
2. Don’t wear flip flops (a.k.a. as slippers in Hawaii) unless you have undergone years of special training.
3. Don’t give your child anything to hold, that you will miss if it slips out of his hand and down the side of the cliff. This rule also applies to loose-fitting hats.
4. This trail is not for toddlers or most preschoolers. You will drive yourself nuts telling them to be careful to not slip off the side of the trail.
5. Be prepared for your child to act as if he’s the adventurer in a scene from a movie. He will be truly impressed and unlikely to ever forget hiking that trail with you. Hopefully, he’ll remember it when you argue with him over curfew in his teenage years.
I’m linking up to the original Monday dreamer, Mother of All Trips. Go check out all the other dreamy posts.
The view from the first picture is definitely worth it! Great tips on hiking with kids.
We invest in camel pak for them to carry their own water without having to hold any water bottles.
I’m laughing as I read this. My husband, son, and daughter are hiking it as I type this. Kauai is gorgeous. I am a bit disappointed that I am not with them but I would be the one on the headline for every news station in Kauai “crazy, uncoordinated 49 year old falls off cliff at Napali.” I can hardly wait for them to get back tomorrow. They are camping overnight. I hope they don’t get too wet!
I think it’s great that you did this – I got shivers from your description of seeing the dolphins so it definitely sounds like it was worth it.
We had a similar experience this summer hiking a trail that was really challenging for our kids. They were definitely up for it, and we just scaled back our expectations so that everyone could have a great time. I love that you are encouraging others to take their kids out on the trail.
hiking in flops? you’re practically an islander. i keep saying this, but lucky kid that D! wonderful memories he’ll have.
Yes, I’m practically an islander, except I did see a couple hiking it barefoot. And practically sprinting past us.
We have a highly enforced handholding rule whenever we are near cliffs. I plan on enforcing it until they are 19 since Mommy has a massive fear of falling. Beautiful shots. I am dying to go!
This is just so awesome. Look at the smile on his face in that first picture! We are flip-flop fanatics in our household too – “hats-off” to you for hiking the trail with a laid back approach!