We drove the 17-mile road up and through the canyon itself, and then into Kokee State Park. There are many, many dozens of lookout points to stop at along the way, and try to stop at them all--not just the "official" very touristy ones. Take Waimea Canyon Drive, NOT Kokee Road, as the latter is filled with slow tour buses and is not nearly as scenic.

We stopped off at the entrance to the Black Pipe Trail and took about a 5-mile round-trip hike to another lookout point. Honestly, what we saw was not that much more spectacular than all the other scenery we'd already seen until then! But it was a nice, easygoing hike--a bit steep at times, but never very difficult or at all dangerous. Definitely worth the trip!

Drive the mountain roads, stopping along the way to look at the spectacular views of the beautiful Waimea Canyon.

Drive on out to the end of the road, and you'll have a breathtaking view as the cliffs drop off into the ocean. Try to go early in the day in the winter time, as the whole mountain can easily be in the clouds, and you'll miss the glory.

Eat at the little state park near the end of this road.

You cannot go to Kauai without seeing what Mark Twain is accredited with saying is the Pacific’s Grand Canyon. While not as impressive as the Grand Canyon, it is impressive in its' own right. I cannot remember the roads in Arizona, but these roads were narrow and steep, and I am very very glad that I wasn’t doing the driving. And I don’t remember too many guardrails or places to pull off if other cars crowded you!

One thing different about the canyon area now then 12 years ago when I last saw it: less trees since the hurricane destroyed so much. It also appears that a lot of erosion is taking place. Some of the restraining areas where visitors can peer over the rails have been moved because the soil is moving. Something the same is the volume of chickens! They are everywhere. In fact the local people would like the tourists to bring some home!

Also the same from 12 years ago is how awesome the views are. We had a wonderful day, so we were able to drive quite a bit up the mountain and then we stopped at various points on the way down. Since we had a video cam with a very strong zoom lens, we were able to get different perspectives (and pictures) of the canyons. Some of our pictures, taken near the top, show the gravel trails at the bottom. Some show the detail of the "walls" of the canyon. Since several lookout points had multi-tiered viewing areas, we even have pictures where it appears that you are next to the canyon. What our pictures don’t show is how immense the area is. You have to go there to appreciate how huge the area is.

We were lucky that we took our tour at the beginning of the stay. Later in the week as we drove around the island, we could see the canyon area in the distance and cloud covered! Unless you are staying in the Poipu area, it is quite a drive to see one major sightseeing site. But it is worth it and you have to do it.

This is a must! This colorful canyon is the largest canyon in the Pacific and is quite beautiful. Stop at the many viewing areas and take a few pictures. Even the drive up the canyon is interesting---the road makes several interesting curves. Along the side of the road, you'll see lots of interesting looking twisted bleached out trees and lots of red soil. Even the road is reddish. The soil in Kauai contains a lot of red clay that stains everything! At the top of this canyon you're even bound to see lots of colorful wild chickens. They're everywhere in kauai! Try to drive there around mid day so the shadows aren't so harsh.

Waimea Canyon Drive starts in the town of Waimea and is one of 2 roads leading up the canyon---the other being Koke'e Road (but Waimea Canyon Drive follows the rim better). The canyon rises to about 3,600 feet and Waimea Canyon Drive is about 10 miles long and ends in Koke'e State Park. There are many pullouts with fantastic views of the Kalalau Valley on one side and the ocean on the other. If you have more time, there are plenty of hiking trails and even bike and four-wheel drive guided tours.

Another great way to see the canyon and it's many waterfalls is by helicopter. Most of the canyon is unaccessable by land.

This trail waas beautiful. Once you got about 3/4 miles into, the trail splits and you have the choice to go to the cliffs or to the waterfalls. We did both trails and I'm so thrilled that we did. The first cliff was just a nice view, but you got a great picture out of it. The waterfall trail was my favorite. It made us work up a sweat but yet brought out our adventurous side. We loved the hiking over the rocks and tree limbs, down the sloping mountain, over rocky terrain - it was quite a trip and what a site. We even walked down a little farther, took our shoes off and waded in the waterfall pool. It was heavenly and something out of a movie! It is worth the sweat that it takes you to get to the end.