Deaths & Safety On The Kalalau Trail: What To Know

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The notorious Kalalau Trail in Hawaii is as harmful as it’s lovely. People have died from falling off cliffs, drowning in rivers, being carried away by rip currents, and different causes. Some have even disappeared with out a hint.

This is a really climate dependent hike and the circumstances can change immediately. I’ve hiked Kalalau thrice now, and I had an in depth name a kind of instances.

So how many individuals have died on the Kalalau Trail? As of 2026, there have been 17 confirmed deaths for those who exclude drownings on the seashores, or 59 together with the seashores.

Don’t get me unsuitable, Kalalau is a superb hike and I’m glad it’s open to the general public, but it surely’s not for everybody, and it’s best to undoubtedly concentrate on the dangers earlier than you go.

The listing of fatalities on this article is essentially the most thorough listing of its form out there on the web on the time of writing (2026), though some particulars should still be incomplete. Each of those tales are tragic. Some could have been avoidable with extra consciousness and higher planning.

I’m not attempting to scare you out of doing this trek for those who’re ready. It’s such a particular journey. I simply wish to show you how to make knowledgeable choices, and remind you to maintain security front-and-center throughout your time in Kauai.

My Guide For The Kalalau Trail

Before we speak concerning the path deaths and security suggestions, I additionally wrote a whole information for the hike and the best way to do it step-by-step.

It has numerous suggestions, data, and photographs for the hike. Definitely give it a learn for those who plan to do Kalalau! You can test it out within the hyperlink beneath.

Read More: How To Hike The Kalalau Trail

 

How Many People Have Died On The Kalalau Trail?

It’s laborious to pinpoint precisely how many individuals have died on the Kalalau Trail, however these appear to be essentially the most correct statistics:

• There have been 7 falling deaths from steep ledges on the Kalalau Trail, and presumably extra.
• There have been 3 drowning deaths in streams alongside the path (Hanakapiai, Hanakoa, and Kalalau stream).
• There have been 42 drowning deaths at seashores alongside the path (Hanakapiai, Kalalau, and Honopu Beach).
• There have been 2 well being associated deaths, which had been presumably brought on by coronary heart assaults, warmth exhaustion, and so on.
• There have been 5 deaths with unknown causes. These had been instances the place both a physique was discovered and couldn’t be recognized, or somebody disappeared on the path and was given up for useless after being lacking for many years.

In whole, meaning there have been 17 unintended deaths at Kalalau for those who exclude the seashores, or 59 deaths with the seashores included.

In the following part, I’ll overview every of those instances and see what we are able to be taught from them, and hopefully we are able to all be a bit safer consequently.

 

List Of Deaths On The Kalalau Trail (2026)

This listing of fatalities at Kalalau is essentially the most thorough listing of its form out there on the web on the time of writing (2026), though some particulars should still be incomplete:

• 2024 December – Lauren Cameron, age 32, of Alaska, was swept away by currents and drowned at Hanakapiai Beach. (Source: Kauai Fire Department)
• 2024 January – Matthew Wu, age 30, of New York, was mountaineering on the Kalalau Trail close to Hanakapiai Falls when he fell 30 toes and died. (Source: Kauai Police Department)
• 2021 April – Jeremy Kanoa Hughes, age 43, of Hawaii, drowned whereas swimming at Hanakapiai Beach. Two bystanders jumped within the water to attempt to assist, however they weren’t in a position to attain him. (Source: Kauai Now)
• 2020 June – Andrew Jardine, age 41, of Hawaii, was mountaineering to Hanakapiai Beach when he collapsed and died about 200 yards from Ke’e Beach. CPR was unsuccessful and a reason behind demise wasn’t launched, however there have been no foul indicators of foul play. (Source: Kauai Police Department)
• 2020 June – Amber Philips, age 32, of Hawaii, drowned within the Kalalau Valley stream. She additionally had accidents according to a fall. (Source: Kauai Now)
• 2019 December – An unidentified man from China, age 27, drowned whereas swimming at Hanakapiai Beach. (Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser)
• 2019 September – An unidentified man from Hawaii, age 41, drowned whereas attempting to swim from Kalalau Beach to Honopu Beach. (Source: Hawaii News Now)
• 2018 January – Timothy Axtelle, age 57, of Washington, drowned whereas swimming at Hanakapiai Beach. (Source: Kauai Police Department)
• 2017 January – Ramona van Schendel, age 39, of the Netherlands, fell and died whereas mountaineering the Kalalau Trail in an space often called Space Rock, roughly three miles from the Ke’e Beach trailhead. I used to be really mountaineering the Kalalau Trail with some buddies when this occurred, and we seen her deserted backpack close to the cliff, however we didn’t hear the information of what occurred to her till later. My guess is that she could have been attempting to peek over the cliff or take a photograph when she fell, however that’s simply hypothesis on my half. It’s usually straightforward to keep away from the cliff at this part of the path. (Source: Kauai Police Department)
• 2016 November – Janet Ballesteros, age 53, of Hawaii, drowned at Hanakapiai Beach. (Source: Hawaii News Now)
• 2014 August – Zachary Rose, age 29, of Hawaii, was mountaineering close to the 7 mile mark in an space near Crawlers Ledge and the purple hill, when he fell off the sting and landed on rocks 50 toes beneath the path. A hiker in his group tried to climb down the cliff and assist him, however he was unresponsive. (Source: Hawaii News Now)
• 2014 August – An unidentified lady from Hawaii, age 19, was swept away and died whereas attempting to cross the Hanakoa stream (Source: Hawaii News Now)
• 2014 April – Daniel Foster, age 31, of Texas, fell from a cliff and died whereas mountaineering deep into the Kalalau Valley. (Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser)
• 2013 August – An unidentified man from Germany, age 61, collapsed of fatigue and died close to the 8 mile mark of the path. (Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser)
• 2013 February – Norka Villacorta, age 43, of New York, was swept away and drowned whereas attempting to cross the Hanakapiai stream throughout a flood. (Source: New York Post)
• 2013 January – Ilya Nikolayevich Lomov, age 42, of California, disappeared on the Kalalau Trail. He was final seen tenting within the valley, and hasn’t been heard from by anybody since. (Source: SFGate)
• 2012 June – Rose Schlegel, age 30, of Hawaii, was strolling after darkish close to her camp website in Kalalau Valley when she fell 20 toes down a cliff and landed on rocks. (Source: Kauai Now)
• 2008 March – Jesse Glen Pinegar, age 22, of Utah, disappeared whereas mountaineering the Kalalau Trail. His campsite was discovered close to the 5 mile mark with a few of his belongings, however he’s by no means been seen once more, and his household believes he died on the path. (Source: SFGate)
• 2004 January – Bradford T. Turek, age 28, of Ohio, disappeared on the path. He was final seen at Kalalau Beach. (Source: SFGate)
• 1979 March – A hiker on the Kalalau Trail discovered two decomposed our bodies mendacity subsequent to one another within the Hanakoa Valley, with no identification and no reason behind demise. They’re nonetheless listed within the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. (Sources: SFGate, NamUs)
• 1971 – A rappelling biologist discovered two separate stays off a cliff in Kalalau Valley of people that died years aside. (Source: SFGate)
• 1970-2012 – A complete of 29 hikers drowned at Hanakapiai Beach from 1970 to 2012, and seven drowned on the Kalalau/Honopu seashores in the identical timeframe. Most of those deaths occurred within the winter. At one time, there was a makeshift signal with tally marks at Hanakapiai Beach that claimed 80-100 folks have died there, however that’s unsourced and unverifiable since anybody may add tally marks to it. (Source: Honolulu Civil Beat)

 

Other Incidents At Kalalau

Hundreds of accidents and rescues have taken place on the Kalalau Trail over time, plus there have been just a few uncommon tales.

It could be inconceivable to listing each case right here, however these are simply a number of the extra notable examples:

• 2025 December – A 65 yr outdated hiker from Utah was rescued close to Hanakapiai Falls after falling 10 toes and getting a 6-inch laceration to his head. (Source: Kauai Fire Department)
• 2025 October – A 57 yr outdated man was rescued by helicopter after a spider chunk become an an infection. The hiker had fever, weak point, and wasn’t in a position to hike out on his personal. (Source: Kauai Fire Department)
• 2025 October – A 58 yr outdated hiker with a head harm was rescued close to the 1.5 mile mark of the path. (Source: Kauai Fire Department)
• 2025 September – A 72 yr outdated Swiss hiker with a head harm was airlifted from the path close to Hanakapiai Beach. (Source: Kauai Magazine)
• 2025 April – Approximately 50 hikers needed to shelter in place in a single day on the far facet of Hanakapi’ai stream after heavy rain made it impassable. The path was additionally closed for the weekend. (Source: Kauai Fire Department)
• 2024 August / September – At least 50 hikers bought sick with vomiting and diarrhea after a norovirus outbreak alongside the Kalalau Trail, and it was closed for a one week disinfection. (Sources: Ars Technica, Department of Health)
• 2024 February – Three hikers had been rescued with accidents after falling from the Kalalau Trail. (Source: Hawaii News Now)
• 2023 November – A hiker from New York was injured and rescued after falling 60 toes from the Kalalau Trail. Later on social media, an eyewitness described seeing the incident unfold, and mentioned the lady was ‘lucky to be alive.’ (Source: Kauai Now, Facebook)
• 2016 February – A dozen hikers had been stranded and rescued after the Hanakapiai stream flooded. According to eyewitnesses, some folks nearly bought swept away once they fashioned a makeshift line and tried to cross the river in chest-deep water. (Source: DLNR)
• 2014 August – A hiker’s neck was damaged by robust waves whereas swimming at Kalalau Beach, however buddies and bystanders had been in a position to pull him to security. (Source: The Garden Island)
• 2014 April – The Kauai Fire Department needed to rescue 121 hikers (together with kids) by helicopter in two days, after flooding made the streams impassible. One of the hikers wrote a ebook about their shut name surviving the expertise. The path was briefly closed till circumstances improved. (Sources: Seattle Times, Kauai Now)
• 2013 February – A bunch of 55 hikers had been stranded on the far facet of Hanakapiai stream and needed to be rescued. (Source: New York Post)
• 2012 December – A Japanese vacationer was critically injured when she was thrown off a cliff by a drifter on the Kalalau Trail. The suspect was caught after a 4 month manhunt and charged with tried homicide, but it surely was later modified to reckless endangerment and he was sentenced to five years in jail. (Sources: KCBY, Hawaii News Now, Honolulu Star Advertiser)
• 2006 – A person mountaineering the Kalalau Trail along with his daughter slipped and fell down a slope, however a rock stopped his fall and saved him from tumbling off the 300 foot cliff. The influence on the rock ‘separated his nostrils from his face,’ however he survived. (Source: Backpacker)

 

What Can We Learn From This?

As you may see, Kalalau is a reasonably loopy path, and there are many methods to get harm for those who aren’t cautious.

The largest hazard by far is swimming within the ocean, particularly at Hanakapiai Beach. You ought to by no means swim there through the winter months, or when the waves are large.

In reality, personally, I wouldn’t swim at Hanakapiai even when the water is calm. There have been method too many individuals killed there by harmful currents over time.

I perceive swimming could sound like a pleasant technique to quiet down partway via the trek, but it surely’s simply not definitely worth the threat at Hanakapiai. Better to attend and swim at one of many waterfalls as an alternative.

The second large threat at Kalalau is the streams. Don’t be tempted to attempt to cross any of the primary streams once they’re flooded. It’s not secure. Sit again and look ahead to issues to enhance.

Falling rocks are normally not a significant downside at Kalalau, however preserve a watch out for goats strolling above the path. On my final hike, after I reached the camp, there have been goats above the Ho’ole’a waterfall, kicking down fist-sized rocks into the pool. We determined to attend and take our tub later.

Last, however not least, there’s some hazard of slipping and falling off a cliff at Kalalau, though it’s most likely been a bit overstated.

The major issue once more is unhealthy climate. You shouldn’t be mountaineering close to any steep cliffs when it’s raining, or after darkish. You must also come ready with grippy sneakers and a correct headlight.

One of essentially the most notorious sections of the path is the so-called ‘Crawlers Ledge,’ however I wouldn’t say it’s really essentially the most harmful cliff at Kalalau. You’re strolling on stable rock, and the trail is wider than an individual.

Keep in thoughts, a number of the movies you see on-line are taken with fisheye lenses that exaggerate how slender the trail is.

Would a fall kill you? Yes, it most likely would, but it surely’s straightforward to maintain from falling so long as you stroll slowly and hug the wall; and it solely takes 5 or 10 minutes to move the narrowest part, even with a sluggish tempo.

If another person occurs to be coming throughout Crawlers Ledge from the other way, allow them to move. Don’t attempt to go round them or do something fancy. The path isn’t at all times extensive sufficient for 2 folks to cross one another safely on the identical time.

In my opinion, the purple dust sections earlier than and after Crawlers Ledge are literally worse. Between the 7 and eight mile marks, the trail is roofed with unfastened dust crumbs that may be slippery when dry, or muddy and slick when moist.

I used to be mountaineering this part with my cousin throughout a light-weight rain, and we had a extremely scary shut name at roughly 7.4 miles. He began to slip towards the cliff with mud caked on his sneakers, and I assumed he was going to fall off the sting.

It all occurred very quick, however on the identical time it felt like sluggish movement. For a break up second, I used to be positive my cousin was going to slip off the cliff, and I bear in mind it crossed my thoughts that I’d have to inform his mother and father he died mountaineering with me.

Thankfully he was in a position to crouch on all fours for extra traction, and that stopped his slide. I used to be in a position to do the identical by sitting and scooting alongside the path on my butt.

Since it’s a mud path, the circumstances can change over time, and through this explicit episode in 2018, the trail was not even flat; it was eroded and sloped towards the cliff. That made it even tougher to carry any traction.

Here’s a video on YouTube that reveals what the path appears to be like like in unhealthy climate. It’s an actual mess.

In retrospect, we must always’ve waited for the rain to cease and the trail to dry a bit. It’s straightforward to get tunnel imaginative and prescient on this hike as a result of it’s so lengthy and we needed to get to Kalalau Beach earlier than darkish, but it surely’s at all times higher to reach secure than under no circumstances.

On the best way again, once we crossed the identical part, it was dry and we had no points in any respect; however we moved very slowly and punctiliously simply in case.

 

Is Kalalau Dangerous Or Safe?

Kalalau is an excessive hike by most individuals’s requirements, and there are many dangers concerned.

By the numbers, I believe it’s honest to say it’s some of the lethal hikes within the U.S. There are hikes which might be objectively extra harmful, however method fewer folks try them.

When you learn a few of these scary tales about Kalalau, although, have in mind it’s additionally been safely hiked by lots of of hundreds of individuals over time.

I’ve finished it myself thrice within the wet season, together with a solo hike, and I had a tremendous time with out getting harm in any respect.

If you’re a match and skilled hiker, and also you respect the climate, there’s an excellent likelihood you’ll be tremendous at Kalalau.

That doesn’t imply it’s straightforward, although. Kalalau is an enormous hike that nearly anybody will discover difficult, and it’s best to practice and put together for it.

I wouldn’t recommend this path for younger children, older individuals who aren’t in good condition, or anybody who isn’t regular on their toes and cozy with heights.

You have to take the climate severely, and don’t get tunnel imaginative and prescient. Know when to cease if the circumstances are getting too unhealthy. Don’t hike subsequent to cliffs within the rain, and don’t attempt to cross streams once they’re flooded.

If you comply with these guidelines, you need to be simply tremendous at Kalalau.

 

Side Note: Don’t Waste State Resources

In the previous, there have been some points with folks taking helicopter evacuations for questionable causes like ‘general fatigue’ after which refusing therapy on the hospital afterwards.

EMS isn’t a taxi service for vacationers. Please don’t name for assist at Kalalau except it’s completely needed.

People who do that tie up state sources, waste native tax {dollars}, and make it tougher to ship assist to those that may really need it.
 

Why Do People Hike The Kalalau Trail?

Kalalau is definitely the most effective hikes within the United States, and it’s most likely one in every of my favourite hikes on the planet.

You rise up shut views of an extremely lovely shoreline (Na Pali), plus a number of waterfalls, white sand seashores, and extra.

All of this may be wonderful in itself, however the truth that you additionally get to camp and sleep there makes it much more particular. It’s really an journey.

With that mentioned, solely you may resolve if it’s definitely worth the dangers concerned.

If you don’t really feel like you are able to do the total Kalalau Trail, then you would simply hike the primary 2 miles to Hanakapiai Beach and the waterfall. That’s lots simpler, and the allow is less complicated to get too.

However, the very best views are solely unlocked later within the path, once you get to Kalalau Beach. The additional you go, the higher it will get. The finish of the path is once you actually see the Na Pali mountains in all their glory.

If you wish to strive one other wonderful hike in Kauai that’s simpler and safer than Kalalau and has comparable views, try the Awa’awapuhi Trail. It’s brief sufficient to do in sooner or later, however nonetheless has loads of problem and unique surroundings.
 

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Thanks for trying! I hope you had been helped by this security information for the Kalalau Trail in Kauai.

Don’t overlook to take a look at my different Hawaii journey guides earlier than you go!