The first hike you will come across is this nature loop. It is a short hike and is called the Iliau Nature Loop. Although it’s only a third of a mile long, it offers some excellent views of Waimea Canyon. There are also a large variety of native plants on the trail with descriptive placards. In fact  ‘liau’ is the name of a rare plant found nowhere else in the world, but here on Kauai. I highly recommend checking out this short nature walk, you’ll be glad you did.

Please note that the trailhead is hard to find. Make sure you download the waimea napali tour ahead of time, it will tell you where to pull over for the trailhead.

It’s called the canyon trail. The first portion of the trail starts from the parking lot and is about 1 1/4 mile roundtrip to a place called cliff view point. This trail is lush jungle with canyon views along the way and should only take about 45 minutes.

Now if you are feeling more adventurous, return to Canyon Trail from the Cliff View short detour. Then just hike for an additional 1/3 mile and you will come to the river and the top of the waipo’o waterfall where you will see the view from the top of the first fall – which is about 25- feet. The view from there is amazing! Both parts of the trail are great, it just depends how far you want to hike today.

When you are done hiking, just return the same way you came on Canyon Trail by following the signs for Pu’u hinahina (which is the parking lot where the trail started).

From the viewpoint at the end of the road there is an excellent family friendly hike called the Pihea trail. This trail is relatively flat because you are hiking on the ridgeline overlooking the kalalau valley. The views along this ridge on clear days can be amazing! Just follow the trail to the Pihea vista junction and turn around. This is about 2 ¼ mile round trip.

Be prepared to get a little muddy if it has rained recently. Part of the trail may be challenging for kids under 7 years old. For the casual hiker, I recommend just hiking this trail for as long as you are feeling up to it and then head back the way you came.

This is the first of two lookouts of the Waimea Canyon or the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. This lookout is the best of views if it is a clear day. Occasionally you’ll find fruit stands here. It might be fun to try some fresh local fruit. There’s also a restroom here if you need it.

As you drive along the road past waimea canyon lookout, look to your right. You might be able to see a waterfall in the distance. This is Waipo’o falls. The view of the waterfall is amazing! Although seasonally dry, when it’s flowing, it ’s a two part fall, this part cascades down 800 feet into the canyon. Now, I don’t want to freak you out, but  this overlook is said to be the very place where the spirits of those recently deceased would jump off to po, the land of the dead. It’s said that if the bodies were not properly buried, the spirits would stay and haunt the area. Woo….It’s kind of creepy...

But don’t let that bother you! The view of the waterfall here is awesome!

This is the second of the two lookouts for Waimea Canyon. Here At the end of the parking lot is the trailhead for Canyon Trail. The trail signs are a little confusing so read the description under Best Hikes before hiking.

There is also an excellent view from a lookout here of the island Ni’ihau. You may be able to see the island in the distance if it is a clear day.

From the lookout, you can also see the peak of mt. Wai’ale’ale and a swamp called Alaka’i swamp, one of the wettest places on the entire planet -  with about 450 inches of rain a year. That’s more than 37 feet of rain!

There is an excellent  hike here called the Pihea trail. This trail is relatively flat, and although the full length is 4 miles round trip. Again, you can just hike as far into it as you’d like and turn around. Along the way, you’ll be rewarded with some amazing views of this Kalalau Valley and the Na Pali coast.

There are no restrooms at the end of the road. You will need to drive back to Kalalau Lookout for a restroom.

This is your first view of the na pali coast. From here you overlook the Kalalau valley. This is also the place to see the unfinished work of puni the giant in the story mentioned on the tour. This is also the very same valley where the leper koolau led the rebellion also mentioned earlier in the tour. There are restrooms here if needed.

The lodge and museum at koke’e are located at a small plateau in the mountain with a large grassy area. Check out the tour to learn more about the legend of da big foot...

There is a pretty awesome display at the museum of native plants, animals, and birds that you should check out. In addition there are non-native animal displays like deer and wild boar also found in these mountains.

If you are interested in other hiking trails in the area, the museum staff are pretty knowledgeable so feel free to ask them questions.

The bookstore here is a very complete collection of local books and other things that may be of interest to you about waimea and kok’e area. It is located right next to the Koke’e Lodge.

Koke’e Natural History Museum

Phone: 808-335-9975

Open Everyday from 9 am to 4:30 pm

http://www.kokee.org/

Important: The drive past Hanalei (towards Haena State Park, Kalalau trail & Ke'e beach) is limited to 900 daily visitors. You must reserve a spot in advance for walk-in & bike-in entry, private vehicle parking, or shuttle transportation. Click here for more info on reservations.

The lodge and museum at koke’e are located at a small plateau in the mountain right next to the museum. The lodge is a sit down restaurant with pretty decent food if you are hungry. They offer a selection of local food as well as American style food such as hamburgers and sandwiches. Oh and don’t forget - breakfast is served all day! Prices are reasonable. The eating ambience is down home and no frills but that is why it is called a lodge. Nonetheless, their food may just be the thing to fill up that tummy of yours before the long drive back to your hotel or condo. 

Koke'e Lodge

Located at about Mile 17 (next to Mof Waimea Canyon Road in Koke?e State Park

(808) 335-6061

Open everyday from 9am-4pm

http://www.kokeelodge.com/

This place has two things to check out: an ancient ditch and a swinging bridge. At the bend in the mountain, slow down and find some parking off to the side of the road. You can walk on this swinging bridge and feel your body wobble. It’s a lotta fun, and don’t worry it is safe.

The menehune ditch is on your left at the base of the mountain. You’ll see a metal sign. The square blocks that line the road may look just like some ordinary pile of rocks, but, not so! First off, these rocks were chiseled by hand into perfect square blocks, quite a feat considering there was no metal tools in ancient hawaii until the europeans came. Second, you will spot a tunnel by the mountain that’s only about 3 feet tall. It looks as though it was carved out by some ancient inhabitants that were really small in stature. The ditch system that diverts water to crops shows that menehune were indeed ingenious engineers.

Hanapepe town didn’t actually exist until the 19th century when sugar cane plantations were all over hawaii. With the influx of workers brought in from asia, the town slowly came to being.

Just outside of town there is a famous local ice cream store called lampert’s. They’ve got some local flavors like macadamia nut, coconut and pineapple – all homemade, and totally tasty!. Check it out if you’re interested.

There are also a few quaint art boutiques, restaurants and an interesting little bookstore in hanapepe. Feel free to stop anytime as we do a quick drive through the town.

Every friday night, hanapepe town holds an art night and transforms itself into an artsy, happy place to be with live music, food and art show. If today is friday, you really ought to stick around and check out the hanapepe friday art night

The rich volcanic dirt and cool trade winds  on this island make for ideal coffee growing conditions. In fact, you’d probably never guess, but the kauai coffee company is the largest coffee grower in the entire united states. There are over 4 million coffee trees on some 3,000 acres you see before and around you. That is a heck of a lot of  cappuccinos!

be sure to check out the kauai coffee’s visitor center. They offer free coffee samples in  a large variety of flavors! There is also a pleasant walking trail that meanders through the farm, and shows you  the ‘behind the scenes’ story of how coffee is made… from start to finish.

Kauai Coffee Visitor Center

870 Halewili Road, Kalaheo, HI

(808) 335-0813

http://kauaicoffee.com/

Visiting Hours:

June 1 – August 31: 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

September 1 – May 31: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

This is a great little shave ice place that has been around for a long time here in Waimea. They have a wide range of tropical and traditional flavors that will for sure hit the spot after a warm day of hiking in the sun. They have two sizes Da Kine and Big Kahuna. The Da Kine is probably plenty for two to share.

Jojo's Shave Ice

9734 Kaumualii Hwy

(808) 378-4712

www.jojosshaveice.com

This place isn’t just an ordinary grocery store. Oh no. It is actually the mecca for poke on kauai. Poke. For those of you who love fish, poke is the hawaiian version of sashimi, but with much more flavor. In its basic form, poke is diced raw fish with onions, green onions, soy sauce, and sea salt. But you can add a wide variety of additions to it, such as mayo, wasabi, kimchee, avocado  and  seaweed. Oh man! Makes my mouth water just to think of it! The most popular poke flavor is probably spicy ahi.

Just so you know, their poke sells out fast. Some people drive all the way from hanalei! The only way to ensure that you will get some poke with rice is to call ahead of time and reserve one. Otherwise if you come after lunch you may not have much to choose from.

Ishihara Market

9894 Kahakai Rd - Ste A

(808) 338-1751 extension 0 or 6

This little visitor’s center is a great place to stop by and ask any questions you may have for the friendly local staff. Here you can also buy maps and other helpful books about Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast. If nothing else. This is a great place to stop by and use the restroom before heading up into the mountain.

The offer a pretty neat walking tour of Waimea Town on most Monday mornings. But you must reserve your spot a few days in advance.

Waimea Tech & Visitor's Center

9565 Kaumualii Hwy,

Waimea, HI 96796

(808) 338-1332

Open from 10am - 4pm., Monday - Friday

http://www.westkauaivisitorcenter.org/

Who was this captain cook? How is he important in the history of hawaii?

Back in his day in the 18th century, Captain Cook was considered the world’s greatest explorer. A british naval officer, Captain Cook explored and mapped vast areas of the earth including many pacific islands..

In 1778, Captain Cook became the first westerner to discover hawaii. The area where Cook first set foot in hawaii was the current-day waimea town, right here on kauai. So they put a statue of him in the middle of town. It is kinda neat to stop by and check it out.

This place has casual outdoor seating with a simple menu of shrimp prepared in a variety of ways. The garlic shrimp is most popular but all are good, just depends on what you are feeling like. If you just want a snack, you may consider just ordering one plate of shrimp without rice. This will give you a chance to try the shrimp if you are not wanting to eat a full meal.

The Shrimp Station

9652 Kaumualii Hwy

Waimea, HI 96796

808 338-1242

http://www.theshrimpstation.com/

If you like fish and mexican food, then this is your stop. This restaurant serves up a nice variety of fish and shrimp tacos. The most popular is the Wasabi infused ahi taco. The chips and salsa are also fresh and nice to munch on. This place has casual outdoor seating. Check them out if you are in town.

Island Tacos

9643 Kaumuali Hwy

808-338-9895

Open 11AM - 5PM

http://www.islandfishtaco.com/

Here they sell $10 Dirt Shirts. The only place in Waimea Town. Also other interesting Hawaii souvenir to remember your Hawaii vacation. 

4490 Pokole Pl. 

Waimea, HI 96796

(808) 338-1331