A collection of travel and adventure stories

Hanalei River Kayaking

Description and Directions >>

Description:
The Hanalei River is located in Hanalei on the island of Kauai and is approximately 16 miles long from its source to the ocean. The area is known for magnificent green mountains, waterfalls, turquoise ocean waters and beautiful beaches. The river flows into Hanalei Bay of the Pacific Ocean. Total paddle length is about 4 miles roundtrip if you are just kayaking the river. It is longer if you are kayaking into and around Hanalei Bay.

Activities:
kayaking, fishing, swimming, sightseeing

Directions:
Kayak Kauai is located off of Kuhio Hwy 56, one mile west past the Hanalei bridge just as you are entering the town of Hanalei.

Story Date 7/31/2004
Publish Date 11/18/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: The Hanalei River is a very easy and short paddle (about 4 miles roundtrip). The water is very calm and warm. You have great views of the mountains as you paddle along.

We rented our kayaks from Kayak Kauai. We were able to launch right from their store into a short inlet that led to the river. The river starts our fairly wide and runs along the highway for the first mile or so, but you can't really see it. Mostly, we were surrounded by grassland, flowering trees and palm trees. As we turned and went under the Hanalei Bridge, the river started to narrow a bit. From this point, we saw more variety in the types of trees and flowers. It was relaxing to float along and enjoy the scenery. There wasn't any place to land the kayaks and explore, as we were able to do on the Wailua River. We continued on until the river became too narrow and shallow.

On our way back, we decided to kayak further toward Hanalei Bay. This is about a mile past our launch area. Once we got to the bay, there was a very large beach area where we landed to rest. A couple of people kayaked further out into the bay for a short while, and then we returned. Any day on a kayak is a good day!