50 Hikes in my 50th Year: Hike #45 Mahaulepu Beach Trail Poipu

Hike #45

Date: July 12, 2014

Location: Poipu Beach Kauai Hawaii

Hikers: Me, Sue & Lauren

Directions:

Poipu on the South End of Kauai. Parking lot on side of Grand Hyatt at Shipwreck Beach. Plenty of parking. Water/Restrooms

Mahaulepu Beach Trail -http://www.kauai.com/mahaulepu-beach-trail
Shipwreck Beach - http://www.kauai.com/shipwrecks-beach

Aloha! While staying in Kauai I walked the beach path every morning. This morning we decided to find a beach hike. This was a great hike. We drove to the parking lot that was next to the Grand Hyatt. There were several surfers and swimmers at the Parking lot.

This hike is part of the Mahaulepu Heritage Trail. Much of this area is not developed but this area has a designated trail.

This trail starts by heading up the hill to the rock called Shipwreck. You walk on the sand then hit a hill to the top of the cliff. The views are beautiful of the coast.

ShipWreck Cliff

Jump!

We immediately turned left and headed towards the Poipu Golf Club while hugging the coast the entire way. The terrain starts out very sandy with ups and downs. There are times that you can hug the coast but then need to move inland to stay on the trail.

We saw several people fishing off the cliffs
and there was even a small blow hole.

The middle of the trail is different terrain and we eventually hit the golf course. We carefully stayed on the side of the course while watching for golf balls. Just because we are in Hawaii does not mean people golf better. We then returned back to a trail that was right on the cliff of the ocean. Awesome!!

Heading towards Golf Course

We hit an Area that stated it was Sacred Land. We felt like we were in the jungle as we passed this area. We left only foot prints and respected the area as we do all areas.

Lava Rock

There are posted signs with warning since we are on the cliff of the ocean. Of course we were serious about the signage. :) Right Lauren?

Hazardous Cliff

We travelled to the North East. The Sun was hot and we could feel the heat. It was nice though because we were on the coast.

We were told that we would hit a horse ranch and a bird santuary and eventually the beach.

We did! We stopped right before the final beach area and took some pictures.

This was funny. There was a guy sitting in a upholstered chair selling coconuts. We didn't buy them. Starbucks Ice Tea sounded much better than cocunut juice.

The View of the Mountain was beautiful

View of the Ocean

Look closely. They are not Roosters!

Sue took some cool pictures of me and Lauren. We look like we are GLOWING. We are from our tans and sweat.

Three ladies from NY came up on us and offered to take our picture. We did the same from them. What a great hike.

Smile and Say STARBUCKS!

It was a great hike. We turned around and headed back in the same direction. A couple places are confusing because there are a few paths. We found everything. Took a few photo ops and headed back to the car. This hike was 4.33 miles and took us a little under 2 hours. Lots of photo stops on this one.

How tough is it hiking in Kauia? Seriously? WOW. This is not Na Pali Coast but it is very picturesque. After doing a helicopter tour to see the Na Pali Coast and the trail from the air, I realize that it is not the hike for me. No thanks. I don't camp and it is difficult to do the 11 mile out and back in a day. But check it out if you are interested in an adventure of your lifetime.
http://kalalautrail.com