Nounou (West) Trail, Kauai Hawaii

Turn right onto Kamalu Road (Hwy 581), which is about 1 mile from the Opaekaa Falls viewing area up Kuamoo Road, look for telephone pole #11. There you will find the yellow gate and Nounou Trail sign. The mountain is commonly referred to as “Sleeping Giant”. The trail starts next to a residential area and at the end of the homes the trail starts switchbacking through Norfork pines. The west trail goes up the mountain between the rows of pines. The Nounou Trail climbs to a peak and sheltered picnic area on sleeping giant’s chest. This vantage offers views of the ocean, Wailua River and Mt. Waialeale. The trail is steep, muddy, and wet at times. For a real panoramic view from Lihue to King Kong Profile Mountain (Kalalea Mt) go past the picnic area all the way to the top which is past the picnic area. The total elevation climb is about 1000 feet from base to top of the head. The climb took us around an hour to the top and 35 minutes down.

Sleeping Giant Trails
Distance: 3.89 miles
Min Altitude: 131 ft
Max Altitude: 1,331 ft
Start Location:
Latitude: 22.061300º N
Longitude: 159.346500º W
End Time: 2010-08-30T21:56:42Z
Latitude: 22.051538º N
Longitude: 159.367491º W

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