Wandering Up To Waimea Canyon

A Breathtaking View That's Not Just From The Walk

My husband finally got to return to his ancestral island of Kauai for a visit after a thirty plus year absence. The kids and I had never set foot on any of the Hawaiian islands, and as we had finally made it to Kauai, there was a certain place that I had a real hankering to visit. That place was Waimea Canyon State Park.

I mean, the place's nickname is "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific"! With a nickname that promises so much in the way of spectacular; I knew that it must be observed!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that my husband, a Native Hawaiian, whose family is from Kauai, had never seen this natural jewel. After driving the road to the Waimea Canyon State Park viewing area some of that natural feature viewing neglect was understood. The road to the view of the canyon is as twisty as a package ribbon on Willy Wonka's birthday present, and the speed limit is 25MPH. I think a perfect representation of hell would be to give a person a Kawasaki Ninka H2 R and tell them to drive under 30 up to the canyon lookout. We were in a convertible Mustang, and even though we are not a bunch of speedsters, it was hard to keep our ascent and descent speed that slow.

The Eucalyptus scented road to Eye-dorado

That speed limit became less noticeable as the canyon itself came into view. We could visually glean bits of it as we drove, and soon we found ourselves in a big paved parking lot with a bunch of cars and tour buses. There was nice handicap walkway with railings that ascended a little hill, and we fell in step with those meandering their way to "the view". I had no idea what to expect, I mean, I had seen the pictures on the internet of the beautiful canyon, but real life is always "more better" as many of the kids that visit the library let me know. They are right, Waimea Canyon is way "more better" than goldfish crackers, and not much is better than goldfish crackers!

The canyon delivered! It was one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever taken in. Pictures cannot do the place justice, the layers of colors remind me of what a drunk person would vomit on a sidewalk after too much Fireball and Skittles. Probably too morbid a description for something so beautiful, but nature is about balance!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, and if you are ever in Kauai, take a drive to the dry side of the island and up the curvy road to Waimea Canyon. It is one of those experiences that will make you think of big profound thoughts, or silly abstract ones, or both! 😉

And as always, the images in this post were taken on the author's Waimea Canyon dust-covered iPhone (I tend to drop things).