On our recent trip to Kauai, my husband and I spent most of one day exploring Waimea Canyon on the island’s west side. Mark Twain dubbed it “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific”; and though it isn’t as old, deep or large as its Arizona cousin, it certainly matches it for stunning geological formations, color and impact.

We’d been told to drive up to the head of the canyon, at Kokee State Park, early in the day, as later in the afternoon the clouds and rain tend to roll in. (Nearby Mount Wai’ale’ale, at 5,208 feet, is one of the wettest places on Earth, experiencing an average rainfall of over 400 inches!) The plan then would be to make stops at the various lookouts and parks as we worked our way back down Waimea Canyon Road (State Highway 550). We didn’t get started as early as we had planned, and those enticing views meant we just had to pull over several times on the way up as well as on the return.

Waimea (meaning “reddish water” for the eroded red soil) is about 14 miles long, 1 mile wide and up to 3,000 feet deep. The deep greens of the lush vegetation and the deep red of the soil is readily visible at the end of the canyon, not far from where the river empties into the sea at the town of Waimea.   Here, however, there is only a hint of the deeply cut gorges to be seen at the main Waimea Canyon Lookout at the 3,400-foot elevation mark. Standing at the rim of the canyon, buffeted by strong gusts blowing up from the depths below, I could appreciate the nickname and also recognize features that reminded me of the volcanic origins of Crater Lake National Park not far from my home in Oregon.

Looking south, we enjoyed the contrast of the rugged cliffs around us and the gentle slopes and smooth seas in the distance. 

The canyon road twists and turns, keeping the speed limit at around 25 mph as one steadily gains elevation. At the top, the temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler than at sea level, and we experienced several rain showers at the Pu’u o Kila and the Kalalau lookouts . . . with the added bonus of a streak of a rainbow over the Kalalau Valley.

 Views of the cliffs and waterfalls drifted in and out of focus as mist and clouds wafted through on wind currents,  the moisture giving rise to the lush and varied vegetation all around us.   We enjoyed the experience of taking in the otherworldly folds of the cliffs we had seen from the water on our Na’ Pali Coast catamaran cruise just a few days before  , this time from above. 

Weaving our way back down the canyon road, we stopped several times to take in views of the head of the canyon, seeing small planes and helicopters shuttling tourists through on flightseeing excursions. 

We also enjoyed several vantage points from which to see Waipo’o Falls, a two-tiered waterfall that tumbles 800 feet into the canyon. 

Had we had several more days on Kauai, it would have been lovely to hike the many trails through the area. Guess that’s just another item to add to our “next visit” list!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor