On our first day in Kauai we wanted to see as much of the west side of the Island as possibly. Heading up Waimea Canyon Drive, there are a number of lookout points and hiking trails but it was the Waimea Canyon that outshined them all. Nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific”, this canyon is 3,600 feet deep, 1 mile wide, and a little over 12 miles long. While this Hawaiin gem is smaller in size to the Grand Canyon it far surpasses it in beauty with its rich and colorful foliage. It’s interesting, if you look at each picture, the colors were dulled by sunlight but once a cloud covered a specie area, the colors would become vibrant. The multicolored gorge is dazzling so forewarning, if you forget your camera, or are one of the 8% of adults without a cell phone, you will enormously regret not capturing this scene. The canyon was carved thousands of years ago by numerous floods and rivers and waterfalls flowing down from the summit of Mount Wai’ale’ale, notorious for being one of the wettest spots on Earth.
I LOVE this picture. Mama Bear is the cutest; super excited by her first site of the canyon, and Papa Bear right as he was letting out “WOW.” A perfectly captured moment of an honest reaction.
Water run down creates gorgeous green foliage in the bottom of the canyon.
Directions: Take Highway 50 west from Hanapepe toward Waimea. Waimea Canyon Drive is on the right just past Mile Marker #23. The road travels through the canyon area and ends at Pu’u o Kila Lookout.
Happy Wandering
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