Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [137]
PIHEA TRAIL This is the park’s flattest trail, but it’s still a pretty strenuous 7.5-mile round-trip. A new boardwalk on a third of the trail makes it easier, especially when it’s wet. The trail begins at the end of Highway 550 at Puu o Kila Lookout, which overlooks Kalalau Valley; it goes down at first, then flattens out as it traces the back ridge of the valley. Once it enters the rainforest, you’ll see native plants and trees. It intersects with the Alakai Swamp Trail (below). If you combine both trails, figure on about 4 hours in and out.
ALAKAI SWAMP TRAIL If you want to see the “real” Hawaii, this is it—a big swamp that’s home to rare birds and plants. The trail allows a rare glimpse into a wet, cloud-covered wilderness preserve where 460 inches of rainfall a year is common. This 7-mile hike used to take 5 hours of sloshing through the bog, with mud up to your knees. Now a boardwalk protects you from the shoe-grabbing mud. Come prepared for rain. (The silver lining is that there are no mosquitoes above 3,000 ft.)
The trail head is off Mohihi (Camp 10) Road, just beyond the Forest Reserve entrance sign and the Alakai Shelter picnic area. From the parking lot, the trail follows an old World War II–era four-wheel-drive road. Stick to the boardwalk; this is a fragile eco-area (not to mention the mud). At the end of the 3.5-mile slog, if you’re lucky and the clouds part, you’ll have a lovely view of Wainiha Valley and Hanalei from Kilohana Lookout.
Campgrounds & Wilderness Cabins in Kokee
CABINS & TENT CAMPGROUNDS Camping facilities include state campgrounds (one next to Kokee Lodge and four more primitive backcountry sites), one private tent area, and the Kokee Lodge, which has 12 cabins for rent at very reasonable rates. At 4,000 feet, the nights are cold, particularly in winter. Because no open fires are permitted at Kokee, the best deal is the cabins. (See chapter 5 for details.) The Kokee Lodge Restaurant is open daily from 9am to 3:30pm for continental breakfast and lunch. Groceries and gas aren’t available in Kokee, so stock up in advance, or you’ll have to make the long trip down the mountain.
The state campground at Kokee allows tent camping only. Permits can be obtained from a state parks office on any island; on Kauai, it’s at 3060 Eiwa St., Room 306, Lihue, HI 96766 ( 80 8/274-3446;www.hawaiistateparks.org). The permits are $5 per night; the time limit is 5 nights in a single 30-day period. Facilities include showers, drinking water, picnic tables, pavilion with tables, restrooms, barbecues, sinks for dishwashing, and electric lights.
Tent camping at Camp Sloggett, owned by the Kauai YWCA, 3094 Elua St., Lihue, HI 96766 ( 80 8/245-5959; fax 80 8/245-5961; www.campingkauai.com), is available for $10 per person per night (children under 5 stay free). The sites are on 11⁄2 acres of open field, with a covered pit for fires and a barbecue area, plus volleyball and badminton nets. There are also hostel-style accommodations at the Weinberg Bunkhouse, with bunk beds, separate toilets, showers, and kitchenettes ($25 per person). To get here, continue on the highway past park headquarters and take the first right after the Kokee Lodge. Follow the dirt road and look for the wooden CAMP SLOGGETT sign; turn right and follow the bumpy road past the state cabins into a large clearing.
Safety Tip
Be sure to see “Staying Healthy,” in chapter 3, before you set out on your Kauai adventures. It includes useful information on hiking, camping, and ocean safety, plus how to avoid seasickness and sunburn, and what to do should you get stung by a jellyfish.
BACKCOUNTRY CAMPING The more primitive backcountry campgrounds include Sugi Grove and Kawaikoi, located about 4 miles from park headquarters on the Camp 10 Road, an often muddy and steep four-wheel-drive road. Sugi Grove is located across the Kawaikoi Stream from the Kawaikoi campsite. The area is named for the sugi pines, which were planted in 1937 by the Civilian