The Grand Canyon of the Pacific: Reading the Colors of Waimea Canyon

Mark Twain is often credited with calling it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and while the attribution is shaky, the comparison is not. Carved into the western flank of Kauaʻi, Waimea Canyon runs ten miles long and plunges some 3,000 feet, its walls streaked in rust red, deep green and volcanic ochre.

The Overlooks

The main canyon lookout, just off Waimea Canyon Drive, delivers the classic panorama, often with a waterfall threading the far wall. Keep climbing to the Puʻu o Kila and Kalalau lookouts near the top for views that, on a clear morning, drop straight down into the roadless Nā Pali valleys.

Timing Is Everything

This is the wet side of a very wet island, and clouds can swallow the canyon by midday. Come early, before the mist rolls up from the coast, and pack a layer — the rim sits high enough that it feels a world away from the beaches below.

Waimea Canyon changes color by the hour, as if the island can't decide which shade of red it likes best.

If You Go

• Go in the morning before clouds fill the canyon
• Don't stop at the first lookout — the highest ones are the best
• Combine with Kōkeʻe State Park trails at the top of the road
• Fuel up in Waimea town; there are no services up the drive

However you plan it, this is the kind of place that rearranges your idea of a good day off.