OUR MISSION
“Sharing Kauaʻi’s beauty with aloha”
Our mission was forged in love and respect for this island’s abundant mana (life energy). Our local guides take you to some of their favorite spots, the places they enjoy exploring in their free time. We hope to inspire understanding, respect, and reverence for these sacred, often fragile, environments.
Experience Kauaʻi Adventures Like a Local
We offer so much more than hiking
Kauaʻi Hiking Tours offers day hikes, backpacking trips and driving tours on the Hawaiian Island of Kauaʻi. We are one of the only hiking companies on Kauaʻi certified as a Sustainable Tour Operator by the Hawaiʻi Ecotourism Association and permitted by both the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and Hawaiian Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to lead tours on state land and transport passengers on public roads. We delight in consistently exceeding expectations as we share beautiful Kauaʻi in a way most wouldn’t dream possible.
Permit/Certificate Numbers:
DLNR: CTTA-05-01
PUC: 3611-C
Location
Kaua’i is sometimes called the “Garden of Eden.” It’s home to a diversity of landscapes, all spectacularly beautiful in their own way.
Adventure
Whether you’re an athletic hiker or someone looking to experience Kaua’i with a more laidback vibe, we’ve got you covered.
Sustainability
Kaua’i Hiking Tours supports the Hawaii Ecotourism Association’s principles of sustainable tourism.
Meet Our Team
Jeremiah Felsen
Founder & Lead Guide
Kaua’i Hiking Tours primary guide and founder, Jeremiah Felsen, has been working as an Adventure Facilitator for nearly 20 years. During that time, Jeremiah has personally guided thousands of individuals into the wilderness throughout much of the US, including Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Hawai’i and the US Virgin Islands.
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Jeremiah grew up on the outskirts of Washington DC, where from an early age he was exposed to a variety of cultures and experiences. He’s held such positions as a Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Studies intern, Keepers Aid for the Small Mammal House at the National Zoo, ropes course facilitator, rock climbing and canoeing instructor, wilderness trip leader for high school and college students, councilor and field instructor for “youth at risk,” interventionist, primitive skills instructor, “first-mate” on a 28′ racing yacht (leading day sail and snorkel trips in the US Virgin Islands), wilderness ranger in Northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, back-country ranger, forest protection officer, trail crew foreman and “bear guard” throughout Southeast & Southcentral Alaska, wildland firefighter in Oregon, and US Marine in North Carolina. His diverse work and educational experience reflect his deep interest in people, places and the natural world.
With a B.S. in Outdoor Education – Adventure Education and a minor in Native American Studies, Jeremiah is also certified in CPR & First Aid and as a Wilderness First Responder through Wilderness Medical Institute. He lived on Oahu and Maui prior to moving to Kaua’i in 09′, where he has been leading hiking and backpacking trips for the past 8 years. In his free time Jeremiah enjoys travel, reading, writing, trail running and playing in the ocean. He also enjoys volunteering with various local huis (hui – a formal or informal group, club, or partnership – united in common interest or task) performing cultural and environmental restoration work throughout the island. More information can be found in the Hana Hou! Magazine feature The Backwoodsman.
Anita Cook
Lead Reservationist
Anita Cook is along time resident of Kauai because she knows how to pick the best places to live! Originally hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, she has lived in many beautiful places in the world. She has a background in art but has worn many hats in her lifetime. She worked and lived in Israel for a year then went on to study and practice Shiatsu in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her studying of health and wellness plays an ongoing role in her life.
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In order to ski and hike in the Rockies, she worked as a cook and baker in Aspen, Colorado as well as Hawaii. No stranger to adventure, she has travelled many places in the world and spent 5 years sailing and living independently aboard a 36′ sloop with her husband cruising the South Pacific and New Zealand.
She has a deep love of nature and tries to commune with the elements as much as her busy life affords. she supports Jeremiah and his business, KHT because she recognizes the value of being connected with All in nature and knows that he offers this opportunity to visitors of this divine island of Kauai and most importantly, does so with respect for this ‘Aina’ (land).
She has a lust for life and learning and has enjoyed many fun activities like martial arts, paddling Hawaiian canoe (across the Molokai Channel), yoga and many forms of dance, most recently tango. She also been playing taiko drums for the last 17 years of Kauai. She currently runs a sign business with her husband, practices permaculture on their land and is the lead KHT reservationist
Krista Schnell
Customer Relations & Tech Support
Krista Schnell first came to know Kauaʻi, when she moved here to study massage therapy. She believes Kaua’i is the most beautiful place she has ever been, and she is grateful for her time spent there. The island and its people softened her in ways that were at first unexpected and now quite welcome.
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Previously, Krista studied engineering and worked as a technology consultant in Silicon Valley, which sparked her undying interest in business and entrepreneurship. She is fascinated by the future of work and is a co-organizer of a conference on the topic. Now, she is following her passions, studying sociology as a PhD student at UC Berkeley. Krista prioritizes having amazing, unique experiences in her own life, and she hopes to enable others to have them as well–which is just one reason why she loves Kauaʻi Hiking Tours.
Andrew Denny
Guide & Guest Relations Manager
Born and raised on Kaua’i, Andrew Denny is a highly-regarded hiking guide and community leader. Andrew has been exploring the Nā Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon since he was a toddler. Andrew’s father, an avid hiker, tour guide, and high school teacher from Colorado, frequently took Andrew and his siblings on Kaua’i’s majestic ridge, valley, and coastal trails.
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After earning degrees in Chinese Mandarin, Asian Studies, and Chinese Intelligence Studies, he traveled the world in the US Air Force as a Chinese intelligence analyst and translator. In 2013, Andrew returned to his beloved home, Kaua’i, where like father, like son, Andrew began teaching at Kaua’i High School and guiding visitors, students, and new friends to hidden gems on his beloved Kaua’i.
When he is not on the trails, Andrew is a student at the University of Hawai’i , where he is researching the ethnobotany and anthropology of the Mū and Menehune, the first migrations of Polynesians who thrived in the remote valleys and mountains of Kaua’i. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys hosting friends, cooking, gardening, trail running, and volunteering.
Book Your Tour Today
Sustainability Commitment Statement:
Kauaʻi Hiking Tours is one of the first and only tour companies on Kauaʻi to meet the stringent requirements necessary to become certified as a Sustainable Tour Operator.
For over 25 years the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawaiʻi has promoted sustainable tourism through innovative initiatives and programs aimed at protecting our natural and cultural resources. It is a non profit 501C3 organization run almost entirely by volunteers – dedicated residents throughout the island chain coming up with innovative ways for tourism to help, and not hurt, our local communities.
STAH’s operating principles of sustainable tourism include the following content areas:
- Environmental Management
- Staff Management
- Interpretation Management
- Consumer Evaluation Management
- Marketing Management
Please click the link below for more information about the work the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawaiʻi has been doing for the past 25 years, and for a current listing of certified Sustainable Tour Operator companies throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
Pledge To Our Keiki
Kauaʻi Hiking Tours has partnered with Kanu Hawaiʻi in efforts to help promote Pledge To Our Keiki and the other important work that they are doing.
The Pledge was created by students from schools across the islands of Hawaiʻi. The Pledge is a commitment to respect and care for the places that we call home. We hope that you will join students from all across Hawai’i in their Pledge to keep Hawaiʻi Hawaiʻi while sharing it with the world!