Trail | Distance | |
Kukui Trail | 2.5 miles one-way | Trail starts on your right between mile markers 8 and 9 on Kokee Rd (US Route 550). Steep hike to bottom of Waimea Canyon. Trail ends at Wiliwili campsite |
Koaie Canyon Trail | 3 miles one-way | Koaie Canyon Trail starts approximately .5 mile upstream from the bottom of the Kukui Trail. The Hipalau and Lonomea campsites are along this trail. |
Waimea Canyon Trail | 11.5 miles one-way | Starts at the end of Kukui Trail and leads to the town of Waimea. The trail crosses the Waimea River at least 10 times. Some claim locals tube down the river back to town; I don't know if this is possible due to the number of rocks/shallows in the river, but would be interesting in finding out if it is possible to do. |
Suggestions:
- Bring flip flops or other water shoes for all the river crossings on Waimea Canyon Trail. I hiked the entire WCT in my Vibram Five Finger shoes.
- Some campsites are better than others: Wiliwili was trashed and had a lot of garbage scattered around. Hipalau's drop toilet made the entire campsite smell.
- Bring heavy duty bug spray or prepare to be attacked by some of the most vicious mosquitoes ever encountered.
- Don't be surprised to find goat skulls and bones around the campsites; wild boar and goats are hunted in this area.
- Be mindful of stepping on the Cane Toads. They're an invasive species but I'm sure you don't want to have to scrape one off of the bottom of your shoe.
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| Cane Toad I found in-between my feet |
On my visit to Kaua'i in October 2011, my dreams of hiking the Kalalau Trail were cut short due to flash floods. With so much rain, there were few alternatives to pursue but I was hell-bent on testing out my new tent, so we planned to make an attempt to hike Waimea Canyon.
With no maps of the Waimea Canyon Trail in the guidebooks, we headed to the West Kauai Tech & Visitors Center in an effort to obtain a map and ensure the trails would be safe to hike despite the flash flood warnings. The gentleman working at the visitor's center wasn't prepared to offer any information to hikers, but he did point out some books that may be helpful. His colleague was a hunter who frequently used the trails and she was able to tell us the trails were most likely still safe. We had a look through the suggested book, found something that gave us an idea of where the trail headed and set off to hopefully find our way.
The Hike
Kukui Trail and Koaie Canyon Trail
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| Map courtesy of A Kaua'i Blog |
At the bottom of the Kukui Trail, the Wiliwili campsite sits in close proximity to the Waimea River. All the campsites have the convenience of outhouses and pavilions, but the trash that littered the Wiliwili campsite detracted from any amenities that were provided. We dropped our packs and continued to follow the trail upstream to the Koaie Canyon Trail to check out the remaining campsites (Kaluahaulu, Hipalau, and Lonomea) and determine where we would stay.
The Koaie Canyon Trail (6 miles round-trip) follows the river upstream.The dense fauna found along the trail makes it easy to forget you are in the at the bottom of a canyon in the middle of the Pacific. Some trees along the trail bear fruit; finding ripe fruit can still be a task. With a bit of effort, and the disturbing discovery of a lemon that turned orange (or was it a orange that turned into a lemon?), we were able to harvest some fruit that would end up being our breakfast in the morning. Hidden along the trail are areas that could easily lend themselves to be swimming holes when the river is not rushing with excess water from the rain. Upon our return to the littered Wiliwili campsite to retrieve our packs, it was not difficult to decide to stay at one of the other campsites in the Koaie Canyon.
Waimea Canyon Trail
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| Waimea Canyon Trail river crossing (#13 of 17) |
The Waimea Canyon Trail, which starts at the Wiliwili campsite, is more of an 11.5 mile 4x4 road than a hiking trail. Nonetheless you will find great views looking up into the Waimea Canyon while hiking toward the town of Waimea. The scale of the canyon doesn't hit you until you're toward the end of the trail and a glance over your shoulder reveals the colossal landform you're emerging from and the rapids of the Waimea RIver that sculpted the landscape. Not only does the trail follows the Waimea RIver back to town, it crosses the river the upwards of 17 times (this is a guesstimate; we lost count). The river crossings definitely could be considered the most difficult part of this hike and depending on rain fall, some areas of the river were thigh-high. Find shoes to hike in that you don't mind walking through water in because it is not worth taking your shoes off literally once a mile.
Despite not having a map we were able to track our proximity to the end of the trail by observing the walls of the canyon recede as they approached the area where the town of Waimea was established. Although we knew we were approaching the end of the trail, without a map we had no idea where we would end up except the trail leads directly to Menehune Rd. Through those last few river crossing in the last mile, we knew we had to be close but had no idea how close. With the prospect of a warm meal and shower not far, we pressed on until we turned a bend to find another river crossing. Immediately obscenities emerged from my lips until I saw cars just on the other side of the river. We finally reached the end of the trail! Menehnue Rd is a dead end, so the choice of which direction to walk was easy enough and we continued to walk for 2.5 miles until reaching Waimea.
Without a round-trip route, the hike was not over once we reached town. We still had to figure out how to get back to the car. There is a fairly constant stream of tourist traffic through Waimea up to Koke'e State Park on US Route 550, so we decided hitchhiking back to the car would be our best option even though trying to get picked up when you're dirty and smell like you just got off the trail can be tricky. Splitting up proved to be the best approach: my hiking partner stayed with the packs at the junction of US Route 50 and 550 trying to get picked up and I began walking up Route 550. I was picked up by a nice couple visiting from Peru and easily made it back to the car concluding our journey.
Resources: Kokee and Waimea State Park Hiking Trails
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