Showing 1-22 of 22 results
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'Opaeka'a Falls
While neither the highest nor the prettiest, the 40ft 'Opaeka'a Falls became a major tourist attraction because tour buses can easily stop here. Just head up on Kuamo'o Rd for 1.5 miles and turn right into the lookout parking lot. You're likely to encounter a herd of camera-toting sightseers all capturing exactly the same shot.
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Alekoko (Menehune) Fishpond
Although the view is distant, you won't regret a quick stop to look at the tranquil 39-acre Alekoko (Menehune) Fishpond, an ancient loko wai (freshwater pond), surrounded by a vast area of forest. According to legend, Kaua'i's menehune (little people) formed the fishpond overnight when they built the stone wall running along a bend in Hule'ia River. The stone wall is now covered by a thick green line of mangrove trees.
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Gay & Robinson
Olokele exists only for the Olokele Sugar Company, the last remaining sugar producer on Kaua'i, and Kaumakani exists only as the headquarters of Gay & Robinson, owners of this plantation and the island of Ni'ihau.
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Guava Kai Plantation
The token 'visitors center' at the 480-acre Guava Kai Plantation is not a must-see. But the neatly planted orchard is pleasant enough. At the visitors center, you can sample juice and buy guava, jams, hot sauces and syrups. You can also stroll a pleasant path through a tropical-flower garden and enter the orchards to pick unlimited guavas.
To get here, turn inland onto Kuawa Rd from Kuhio Hwy, just north of the 23-mile marker.
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Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge
Birders will enjoy the scenic 2-mile drive through the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, which passes taro fields, banana trees, bamboo thickets, hau (hibiscus) trees and wild ginger across 917 acres of the valley.
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Kalalau Lookout
At the 18-mile marker, the 4000ft Kalalau Lookout faces the emerald depths of the valley and straight out to sea. On clear days, late-afternoon rainbows sweep so deeply into Kalalau Valley that the bottom part of the bows curve back inward. Bright-red 'apapane birds feed from the ohia-lehua flowers near the lookout railings.
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Keahua Arboretum
Amid towering trees, a gurgling stream and cool misty rain, Keahua Arboretum, east of town, makes a nice little picnic spot. The Department of Land & Natural Resources planted mini groves of teak, eucalyptus and shower trees in the 1940s to create an outdoor nature classroom, showcasing the benefits of forest management.
Avoid the area at night, when it becomes the scene for rave parties.
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Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is the northernmost point of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. Topped by Kilauea Lighthouse, built in 1913, the refuge is picture-postcard material. The paved path to the lighthouse is disabled-accessible.
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Koke'e State Park
Sprawling Koke'e State Park is the starting point for almost 50 miles of outstanding hiking trails. Here, you'll see terrain unlike that found anywhere else on the island, including the largest concentration of extant native bird species in Hawaii.
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Koloa Landing
Koloa Landing, at the mouth of Waikomo Stream, was once Kaua'i's largest port. In the 1850s farmers used it to ship Kaua'i-grown sugar, oranges and sweet potatoes, and it was the third busiest whaling port among the Hawaiian Islands, surpassed only by Honolulu and Lahaina, Maui. The landing waned after the road system was built and it was abandoned in the 1920s. Today only a small boat ramp remains.
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Kukuiolono Park
Whether or not you golf, Kukuiolono Park is nice for jogging or strolling. You'll see only locals here - along with a panoramic vista of the South Shore, including verdant Lawa'i Valley, the resorts in Po'ipu and the endless Pacific beyond.
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Limahuli Garden
Learn to distinguish Kaua'i's flora among native, Polynesian-introduced and modern-introduced (alien) species at Limahuli Garden, part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden . Perhaps the most natural of all Kaua'i's gardens, the setting is spectacular, with Makana Mountain standing guard over plants flourishing from the copious rainfall.
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Maniniholo Dry Cave
Directly across Ha'ena Beach Park, Maniniholo Dry Cave is deep and broad and high enough to explore. Drippy and creepy, a constant seep of water from the cave walls keeps the interior damp and humid. The cave is named after the head fisherman of the menehune who, according to legend, built ponds and other structures at night.
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Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens
Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kaua'i from California in 1982 and began landscaping the grounds of their home. Today the Dotys are in their 80s and their retirement project is a 240-acre extravaganza of Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, all meticulously groomed.
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Ninini Point
You'll enjoy solitude from other tourists at Ninini Point, where 360-degree vistas show jets swooping in the sky above and waves crashing against the rocks below. Looking east, soaring cliffs cut off rainbows and, closer in, golfers tee off near a beckoning scoop of beach.
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Nounou Mountain
On clear days you can see the outline of the Nounou Mountain (commonly called the Sleeping Giant) atop Nounou Ridge from a marked viewpoint just north of the Waipouli Complex.
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Pu'u Konanae
The puka (hole) in Pu'u Konanae is now more like a sliver, since a landslide transformed the once-obvious landmark. Legend says the hole was created when a giant threw a spear through the mountain, causing water to gush forth as waterfalls. From slightly north of the 15-mile marker along Hwy 56, look back at the mountain, down to the right of the tallest pinnacle: on sunny days you'll see a smile of light shining through a slit in the rock face.
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Spouting Horn Geyser
Famous but fickle, Spouting Horn Geyser somehow became a mandatory stop on the tour-bus circuit. Don't expect Yellowstone's Old Faithful. Spouting Horn is less predictable, less lengthy and less high. Its seawater eruptions are typically under 30ft and last only seconds, when the sea shoots through a hole in the lava reef. But the sea spray creates lovely rainbows - a sweet photo op.
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Tree Tunnel
If driving from Lihu'e, take Maluhia Rd (Hwy 520) to navigate under the fairy-tale Tree Tunnel, a mile-long canopy of towering swamp mahogany trees (a type of eucalyptus). Pineapple baron Walter McBryde planted the trees as a community project in 1911, when he had leftover trees after landscaping his estate at Kukuiolono.
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Wailua Falls
Wind your way 4 miles north of Lihu'e to Wailua Falls, made famous in the opening credits of the Fantasy Island TV series. While officially listed as 80ft, the falls have been repeatedly measured at between 125ft to 175ft. Indeed, this gushing double waterfall (Wailua means 'two waters') misting the surrounding tropical foliage is a fantastic photo op, especially when the falls merge into one wide cascade after downpours.
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Waimea Canyon
Of all Kaua'i's unique wonders, none can touch Waimea Canyon for utter grandeur. While one expects to find tropical beaches and gardens here, few expect a gargantuan chasm of ancient lava rock, 13 miles long and 2500ft deep to the riverbed (or 3700ft above sea level). Flowing through the canyon is the Waimea River, Kaua'i's longest, which is fed by three eastern tributaries that bring reddish-brown waters from the mountaintop bog, Alaka'i Swamp.
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Waimea Canyon Lookout
The most scenic of the lookout points along this stretch of Waimea Canyon Rd is Waimea Canyon Lookout, signposted 0.3 miles north of the 10-mile marker, at an elevation of 3400ft. The prominent canyon running in an easterly direction off Waimea is Koai'e Canyon, which is accessible to backcountry hikers. Conventional tour buses go no further than this lookout (but the state is planning to widen the road to Kalalau Lookout for buses).
Showing 1-22 of 22 results
