A collection of travel and adventure stories

Kalihiwai River Kayaking

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Kalihiwai River is located on the north shore of the island of Kauai, between the towns of Kilauea and Princeville. The Kalihiwai Falls are located a short distance up the river. The river flows into the Pacific Ocean at Kalihiwai Bay. Total paddling length is about 2 miles roundtrip.

Activities:
kayaking, swimming, sightseeing

Directions:
Take Highway 56 east from Princeville. After the bridge over the river, turn left on Kalihiwai Road just after Mile Marker 24. Parking is located near the end of the road near Kalihiwai Beach.

Story Date 7/28/2004
Publish Date 11/18/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: I think the Kalihiwai River is the prettiest of all the rivers to kayak on Kauai. The variety of plants, flowers, grasses, and trees is wonderful. The only drawback to this river is that it isn't long enough (only about 2 miles roundtrip).

We started out our kayak from Kalihiwai Beach. Launching is very easy from the sandy beach. As you round the corner, you immediately see the beautiful tropical rainforest ahead. A little further up, we kayaked up a small inlet, but it didn't go very far.

After you kayak under the bridge, the river begins to narrow. At one point, we had to kayak through very low-lying branches. In fact, on the way back, my paddle snapped one of these branches and it smacked me right in the nose. Ow! After you pass through these branches, there is a very calm area that would be great for swimming, although none of us did.

We finally reached our end, where the river became shallower. Unfortunately, we couldn't kayak any further, nor could we see the Kalihiwai Falls. We had heard that there was a trail that went up to the falls. I got out of my kayak to explore, but I only went a short distance because everyone else was still in their kayaks. I still couldn't see the falls. Maybe next time.

We kayaked back to the beach, where most of us landed. Phil's son kayaked out and rode some of the waves onto the beach. As we were eating lunch, we spotted some dolphins jumping out in the waves outside the bay. I wish we could have been closer to observe them more. Next time, we should kayak out into the bay and explore along the coast.