Skip to content
Waimea Canyon State Park, Waimea, HI

Photo: Aaronbernstein, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsIconicOutdoor Adventure

Waimea Canyon State Park

Drive up from Waimea to the main lookout over Kauaʻi's colorful, 3,000-foot-deep Waimea Canyon.

Waimea Canyon Lookout, Kōkeʻe Road · Waimea, HI

About Waimea Canyon State Park

Waimea Canyon, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, runs about 10 miles through western Kauaʻi and is up to 3,000 feet deep. The state park is a scenic drive up from the town of Waimea with lookouts over the red and green gorge, a viewpoint toward Niʻihau Island, picnic spots and trails. After the 2026 hurricanes, only the main Waimea Canyon Lookout is open; the other lookouts, Kōkeʻe Road beyond it and all Kauaʻi camping remain closed. Non-residents pay $5 per person plus $10 per car, and Hawaiʻi residents get in free.

  • #canyon views
  • #state park
  • #scenic drive
  • #lookout
  • #hiking

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Waimea Canyon State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Kōkeʻe State Park

    Under $25

    Forested state park on Kauaʻi offering high overlooks of Kalalau Valley, native-forest hiking, and camping by permit.

    4.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Polihale State Park

    Check prices

    A remote, wild beach park on Kauaʻi's western coast, reached by a long unpaved road and backed by dunes and sea cliffs.

    5.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    Cook Landing Site

    Check prices

    A National Historic Landmark at the mouth of the Waimea River on Kauai, marking where Captain James Cook first came ashore in Hawaii in 1778.

    8.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park

    Under $25

    Hike the first 2 miles of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakāpīʻai Beach, or see Kauaʻi's roadless cliff coast from a boat or a helicopter.

    11 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Limahuli Garden and Preserve

    Check prices

    A Kauaʻi botanical garden and nature preserve in a biodiverse valley, stewarded by Indigenous caretakers and the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

    12 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    Albert Spencer Wilcox Building

    Under $25

    Historic Lihue building that now houses the Kauai Museum, with exhibits on the island's history and culture.

    20 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums