Trip Report Kauai – July 17th Princeville and North Shore

Friday was our last full day on the island. We were up and packing lunch early so we could get started on our full day of plans. The first thing we had on our list was to check out the secret lava pools that are talked about in The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook.

We made our way over to where the secret beach trail was and I realized how dangerous this hike could be. We were lucky; the weather was dry and sunny. Had there been any rain the trail leading down to the beach would have been a muddy, slippery mess.
We were rewarded with a gorgeous beach the second we cleared the trees and steep trail.
You definitely want decent shoes for this trek. The path and beach were fine but there were spots where we were climbing over lava rocks and again, had it recently rained it would have been dangerously slippery.

Some of the views from the beach making our way to the lava rocks.
I highly recommend this adventure, but use common sense. If the waves are crashing up over the rocks or if rain looks like it’s coming your way, it’s best to not risk it. The last thing you’d want to do is twist an ankle or be swept out into the ocean.

There were a few spots where I needed Hubby’s encouragement to keep going. Mostly because I’m a wimp. I did finally clue in to the fact that all the rocks really are just one big mass of lava rock. Meaning you could step almost anywhere and the ground would be solid and sturdy. I’m used to walking over rocks where you have to test out every step before putting your weight down. Here we could climb anywhere and you had solid footing.

The ocean was calm for us and we made it all the way to the area where the deep lava pools are. It was fun feeling like we were discovering something new just for ourselves but knowing there would actually be something worth going out that far to see. I think we took two hours going out and back. We only saw a handful of other people off in the distance. One group of four was playing in the fresh waterfall at the end of our journey and there were a couple folks playing on the beach a ways off. We had fun exploring the area, though we weren’t brave enough to actually swim in the pools. The water was clear but with the few fish we did see swimming around we decided to save our dip in the water for when we were back at the hotel. Once we were done with our lava pool adventure we were back on the main road and headed to Tunnels beach where we met up with more of the family and spent a few hours snorkeling. By the time we made our way to Tunnels it was 11:00 so all the nearby parking was jam packed.

We drove to the beach past Tunnels with a state campsite and plenty of parking and walked back to the trail to Tunnels. I had never been to Tunnels before and was impressed with the snorkeling there. The water goes deep relatively quickly and there’s plenty of rocks to provide hiding spots for fish. We had large fish swimming by the moment we were in the water putting on our fins.

I’m in the middle of this shot sticking my fins up and relaxing in the ocean after our snorkel.

After we spent all our fun at Tunnels beach we packed up our gear and head back through Hanalei. The view from the Hanalei lookout is always gorgeous.