Waimea Canyon

Cokee and Waimea State Park Trails

Cokee and Waimea State Park are two of the most important parcs on the Kauai Islands..... We' ve given the name of the route, the overall number of kilometres, the estimated times and a short explanation of each list. We also have more extensive information on some of the main walking routes (Alakai Swamp and Pihea Trail, Kukui and so on ) in Kokee and Waimea State Park on our Kauai Hiking Tracks page.

Like many Kauai walks, you will certainly profit from a tour leader who can inform you and your group about the region's past and the flora and fauna along the way. The Kauai Hiking Adventures crew has been exploring every corner of Waimea Canyon and Kokee, with many off-trails.

Kokee Lodge and the museum will also have tickets available, but we strongly recommend that you check the ticket and familiarise yourself with the area. The paths start on the lefthand side of the street and lead towards Kokee and then towards the sea, offering stunning vistas of flamboyant gorges and rocks along the north-western coast of Kauai.

All other Kokee tracks begin on the right side of the street or towards the inland. Lots of careless walkers attracted by the 1,000-foot gentle slope are tempted by the sharp ascent back to the trail head.

It'?s a tough road. Begins at a car park near Hwy 17 lane markers. It ends suddenly on the top of the raidgetop, at 2,500 feet altitude, with stunning view of the Awaawapuhi and Nualolo valleys and the Pacific Oceans. Picknick- / Grass place at the end of the way. Do not go beyond the security guardrail at the end of the trails, as the ground is highly unsteady and the descent to the bottom of the valleys is over 2,000 feet.

Extreme difficulty. Whilst the track is quite short, about two mile in total, it is no longer serviced by the reserve (due to Hurricane Iniki in 1992), so get ready for the bush shake. You may sometimes find the master path somewhat hazy and may be mislead by some other smaller paths branching off the master path.

When you have a road chart before you leave, you will more than likely be able to remain on the beeline. Be sure to check with the ranger at the Kokee State Park Visitor Center before embarking on this itinerary. Temperate hint. Begins near the 3-mile point on the Awaawapuhi trails and hits the Nualolo trails between the 3-mile and 3.25-mile marks.

If you are an expert walker, you are planning a full-time tour on the Nualolo Trail, along the Nualolo Cliff Trail and back to Awaawapuhi or inverse. The walks provide a lush landscape into Waimea Canyon, 10m long, 1mi and 3,600 feet underwater. It was named the Grand Canyon of the Pacific by Mark Twain.

" The paths are dryer than the wooded or marshy paths, but not as arid as the NaPali paths above. For beginners there are easy paths and for advanced hikers there are more challenging ones. Moderately trail. Used as an entrance to the Canyon Trail. Indigenous hibiscuses and iriao are among the plant species in the Koaswood.

This path is called after the big wood whistle, which walkers have to pass. Moderately steep trails. It is the most attractive and favourite route from the Cliff Trail to the northern edge of the Waimea Canyon. From the Kumuwela Lookout, the path ends with its magnificent views that traverse the Waimea Canyon from hill to sea.

It' called Eyetrail. It' called Eyetrail. This is a quick and light way to Waimea Canyon. Wild herds of goat visit the rock faces. When you don't have four-wheel drives, begin this trek on the Halemanu Trailhead right on Kokee Road. You go down the dirty Halemanu Road about 3/4 miles to a car park.

It overlooks the CliffTrail and is the perfect place for a leisurely walk. For the more demanding there is the Canyon Track. Moderately steep trails. The route follows the same route as the Cliff Track, starts along Halemanu Road and leads to the top of Waipoo Falls with a view of Waimea Canyon.

Just like the Cliff Trail you begin at the Halemanu trail head directly at the Kokee Road. Go down dirty Halemanu Road about 3/4 to a car park. The Cliff Trail Overlook and the Canyon Trail can be reached from here. The overall route from the Halemanu Road to the top of the drops is four leagues and takes about 2-3 h.

Moderately steep trails. The view of the nearby wood and the river Poomau stretches along the path. Simple way. Take the first right half way to Kokee, between km 8 and 9. Situated at the beginning of the Kukui trails, the 15-minute stroll through the countryside with posters showing flowers, among them the flowering plant species of the river Illiao in early morning until early autumn.

Overlooking the Waimea and Waialae Canyons, there is a small roofed shed. Temperate hint. This path begins half aile up the Waimea River from the bottom of the Kukui trails. He leads you on a tour along the southern side of the Koaie Canyon, with good landscape and bathing spots.

It'?s a tough road. 4x4 down Mohihi 10 Road and the path begins about 2 miles behind the entry of the reserve. Mainly used as a hunter's gateway for pork and caprine hunts, but also offers vistas of Waimea Canyon and the dry forests of Coa. Don't go beyond the security guardrail at the end of the trails.

Moderately steep trails. This is a wooded path that serves mainly as a gateway to the Canyon and Ditch Trails. Simple way. Four wheel driven on Mohihihi-Camp 10 Road and the track begins about 1.5 mile behind the entry plate of Wood Reserve. It is a small path leading to a magnificent panoramic position over the Poomau and Waimea Gorges.

Wildlife enthusiasts should sample the various species of Kokee Rainforest plants - from giant sequoias and sugar cedar trees cultivated in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, to local sweet-smelling corn and moquihana, which are the preferred building materials. The shaded paths range from soft to medium and some of the paths take you to fisheries and hunt areas.

Mohihi-Camp 10 Rd is a four miles long gravel track that offers excellent accessibility to many forest tracks and Alakai Swamp Trails. From the Kokee State Park head office, on the right-hand side of Kokee Rd (Route 552). It' called Eyetrail. Interesting, simple educational path that leads through a multitude of tree species, among them rewood, ohia, leua, gum, sugar pineapple and coa.

This is a shortcut that leads to other paths in the Halemanu area. It' called Eyetrail. It is an easiest hike and a good natural path. Halemanu is dominated by forests of Koha and Chia. The indigenous woodland species comprise the iwi, appapane, epaio and amakihi. It is a woodland path that leads to a prune orchard. Simple way. It is probably the most scenically attractive path in Hawaii.

Four-wheel driving on Mohihihi-Camp 10 Road and the trailer begins. Seventy-five leagues past the forest reserve entry plate upriver from Sugi Grove. "A well-kept, light path that winds around the Kawaikoi stream. Temperate hint. It begins about 2 leagues behind the forest reserve entry signposted Mohihi-Camp 10 Road.

First and foremost, it is used as an entrance path for the hunt of pigs and goats, but also offers a view of Waimea Canyon and the forests of Coa. Very easy to do. This is a small, easily accessible path behind the Kokee Museum with 35 signposted herbs. You will see good samples along the way of the effects that the invading extraterrestrial weed can have on the indigenous woodland population.

This is a very small path that serves as an entrance to the other paths of the Halemanu-Wald. You should give this impoverished lead a name! It is a good example of the local forests of Koja and Chia. It is not unusual for the Alakai swamps to be the wetest in cokee and silt.

The speed of a walker can be slowed down to one nautical metre per hours by the mire. Alakai Grey Sludge is hard to clean, so be ready to smash your clothes and footwear and put your insignia of bravery on your body until your next good swim. Alakai Marsh lies on the old lava -clad lava strata - thirty nautical leagues long enough to receive several hundred centimetres of precipitation every year.

Luckily, in the 1950s efforts to construct a marsh street thwarted, and left a broad mark on the first leg of the Pihea Walk on the edge behind the Puu o Kila Lookout. It'?s a tough one. The path begins at a park and turning zone. Twenty-five leagues northeast of the NaPali-Kona Forest Reserve entry board.

The path takes you through the Alakai Swamp, through indigenous rainforest and marshlands. It'?s a tough road. Four-wheel driving on Mohihihi-Camp 10 Road, and the trailer begins at the end. "The sometimes well-kept path ends at Koaie Stream. Temperate hint. The route begins at the end of Kokee Road (Route 552) at Puu o Kila Lookout (Second Kalalau Lookout).

Very recommendable forestry reservation path to observe the local woodland bird and the Alakai swamp and green. Also changing itinerary to the Alakai Swamp Path, which crosses Pihea Path just before the 1. 75 mile point. At the Pihea Overlook, the highest point of the Kalalau valley, a brief foothill ends. Don't go beyond the Pihea Overlook, as the ground becomes very sheer.

Pihea follows the northwest shore of the Kawaikoi River and ends at Kawaikoi Camp. The path is partly glippery and slushy. If you are not so tough, the first stretch on the edge of the Kalalau Valley is an easier stroll and you can return to the viewpoint when you get a little satiated.