Canyon Trail to Waipo'o Falls Hike

Despite feeling totally wiped out after hiking to Hanakāpī’ai Falls, Matt and I both agreed we couldn't spend nine days in Kaua'i and only do one measly hike. For our next one, I chose Canyon Trail to Waipo'o Falls because it was short and the elevation didn't seem too overwhelming.

Joke's on me. This little trail was steep.

Canyon Trail is in the Koke'e/Waimea Canyon State Park on the west side of the island. Although this is the dryer side of the island (and generally feels more like a desert than a jungle), it rained on us as we made our way to the trailhead.

Miraculously, the rain seemed to be hovering over one part of the park and we got to enjoy a dry hike. The beginning of this hike is an easy walk along a dirt access road.

While this access road is open to cars, we didn't see any; a parking lot at the end of the road finally marks the start of the actual trail, which was definitely not car-friendly.

I knew right away that the hike back up was going to be rough; the trail is entirely downhill toward the waterfall. The terrain was dry, powdery dirt that didn't offer much traction underfoot. The hiking poles were very helpful!

At the first lookout, we got an astounding view of the Waimea Canyon, Kaua'i's "Grand Canyon." It's really crazy that this vast desert canyon is on the same island as the cliffs and tropical climate we hiked just days before. Kaua'i really has everything.

Video of the views and the falls on IG.

Steep.

We reached the end of the trail and a small waterfall that just didn't feel like it was the titular Waipo'o Falls. Matt led us off the trail a bit (and beyond a "Danger, Do Not Cross" sign) and we quickly found a second waterfall. We both assumed this was Waipo'o. 

The pathetic waterfall.

I think if we had hiked a different trail, we would have had a view of the falls; instead, we found ourselves right on top of them!

Waipo'o Falls...I think.

Matt exploring the edge where the falls...fall over.

The hike back was tough; certain parts of this trail have a very steep grade, and climbing back up the slippery terrain was hard. But because it was such a short trail, it wasn't awful.

Before we got back to the access road, we took a quick detour to a viewpoint, where we had some snacks and watched the fog roll in. 

As soon as we made it back to the car and started the drive back down the canyon, the rain returned.

Although this hike didn't have a great payoff at the end—I've seen more impressive waterfalls in the PNW—it was really cool to hike a totally different type of terrain on the same island, and the views of the canyon were an unexpected treat. If we'd had more time, I would have liked exploring more of the park, but we had to make it back in time to get ready for the luau. Maybe next time!

Ali