Kauai, Hawaii - Koke'e State Park Hike and Viewpoint

Waimea Canyon

A stop to pay our National Park entrance fee and take a look at the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Such a beautiful view!


7 Mile Hike on the Awa’awapuhi Trail

Chris found this hike on AllTrails after the captain of the Catamaran had mentioned it the evening before. It’s a moderately difficult hike starting in Kōkeʻe State Park. The entire 3 mile route is enclosed in lush tropical fauna in the gorgeous Nāpali-Kona Forest Reserve.


Valley Rim of Nualolo

The trail is a continual downhill hike from 4,120 feet elevation to the valley rim of Nualolo at 2,500 feet (a little hard on my knees) and ends with spectacular views of the ocean and Nā Pali Coast.

It was fun to walk down onto the bluffs overlooking the ocean. We set up the camera to take a picture of both of us and Chris scrambled across the narrow ledge for a picture - which was a little sketchy. Sheer cliffs down both sides. I wasn’t too nervous myself, but Chris was nervous as I walked it.

We spent quite a bit of time here taking it all in. Just beautiful. Chris carried our backpack full of water and snacks for the hike — and my camera! Thanks hon. The 3.2 miles back to the trailhead were straight up and although I kept a slow but steady pace, my knees didn’t bother me near as much as they did on the way down.


Pu’u O Kila Lookout

After our hike we decided to drive further into Kōke’e State Park to the Pu’u O Kila Lookout. Just stunning. Luckily we had enough of a clear sky that we could see into the valley and to the ocean. Seeing the misty clouds hovering over the ridge explained why it’s one of the wettest spots on earth. It also provided beautiful rainbows. It was just mesmerizing.

The vibrant rainbow actually was so large that it extended all the way over into the valley to the right… so big that I couldn’t capture it with my camera. It was beautiful. The misty clouds moved quickly over the ridge and got us a little wet. Such a great viewpoint.

I love that we saw a double rainbow for a little while too.


Our car for the week… a little red mustang.


Lisa JohnsonComment