Waimea Canyon

the grand canyon of the pacific

I was so anxious to go to Kauai and see the Waimea Canyon for myself. I had recently seen it a few times on Instagram and was mesmerized by the fact there was a giant canyon on an island. It seemed to good to be true! It was the first item on our list once arriving on Kauai. We got settled in our car and started the almost 2 hour dive from the airport to the opposite side of the island to Waimea. 

Once we got there it was so worth the drive. And it was just as cool, if not cooler, than what Instagram made it out to be. It is nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and I don't think it needs much explanation on why!

We got our rental car from Kauai-Rent-A-Car. The price is SUPER affordable, plus they have a super easy and convenient pick up and drop off service right at the airport. I will post more about it in my Tips for Traveling to Kauai post, but I recommend Kauai-Rent-A-Car for your rental car needs! We drove to the first official Waimea Canyon Lookout where there is plenty of parking and lots of graded viewpoints!

I was so blown away by the vast beauty of this place! It was way different than I thought. I didn't anticipate so much green! But I was quickly reminded that Kauai is the Garden Isle and known for being green! 

I am going to do some more research on the canyon because I am curious about the water flowing throughout it! I read about bike rides down to the canyon and I wonder if there are river activities too, if you have any information drop it in the comments below! 

I was most excited to see Waipoo Falls in the canyon. I had it on my list of things to do, to hike to the top of it! I was so nervous when I saw how far away it was from this lookout, I thought maybe it wasn't possible after all!

But we kept driving to a few more lookouts and each one was leading us closer to the falls! I was getting so so excited because each stop we could see the fall more closely and really take in its magic. 

Stay tuned for my next post on hiking to the Waipoo Falls! 

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how to get here

 

Luckily there is only one road in and out of the canyon so it is super easy to find! Head west on the main highway and follow the signs to Waimea Canyon. The signs along the road will take you right there. Their are tons of lookouts, and I recommend stopping at a few! They can each give you different views of the Canyon and have lots of hiking trails at some. 

warning

Be cautious at the lookouts and NEVER hop the railings. The steep drop offs into the canyon can be fatal so always be smart.