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Distance:
0.3 Miles / 0.5 km
Type:
Loop
Difficulty:
Easy
Time to Hike:
~15 minutes
Features:
Surface Type:
Dirt
Park:
Waimea Canyon State Park
Town:
Waimea, Hawaii
Directions:
22.051663, -159.659993
Added:
June 28, 2022
Updated:
July 06, 2022
Please consider making a donation to the Maui Strong Fund to help the victims of Hawaii's recent wildfires.

The Iliau Trail at Waimea Canyon State Park in Waimea, Hawaii (Kauai) is an easy 0.3-mile loop trail that features stunning views of Waimea Canyon, but also features the rare and beautiful plant iliau, which only grows on the island of Kauai.

Hike Description
This trail begins along Kokee Road where initially hikers are greeted with a stunning view of Waimea Canyon along with a bench for sitting and enjoying the view. The trail splits at the bench and this track heads in a clockwise direction for an easy hike.

Along the way, hikers will find interpretive signs for a self-guided tour of Kauai's native plant species. The most important plant along this trail is the Iliau - a tall plant with spiky leaves at the top. This plant only grows on the island of Kauai - similar to the Silversword plant that only grows in Maui's Haleakala Crater. The Iliau may remind some hikers of scenes from Jurassic Park, since a large portion of the movie was filmed on Kauai. Another popular species of plant that grows here is the colorful Lantana, which grows like a tree in Hawaii and less like ground cover in places where this plant is an annual for landscape decor.

On the eastern side of the loop, hikers will find breathtaking views of Waimea Canyon, with some iliau in the foreground. Within the canyon, hikers can spot a massive waterfall spilling down about 1,000-feet or more into the canyon below.

Eventually the trail will reach a junction - if headed clockwise, stay right here to head back to parking.

Parking
Hikers will find parking turnouts by the trailhead, but there's no defined parking lot. There's enough room for about 8 vehicles or less and folks can park down the road a bit if needed.

Warning
Cliff edge: Along the northeast section of the loop is a great vista opportunity; however, there's also a steep ledge here. Watch your step and wear appropriate footwear.

Respecting the Land
Hawaiian land is considered sacred to native Hawaiians and many locals, so please stay on-trail, take nothing but photos, and leave nothing but footprints. Respect the locals - don't stay for long and have a backup hike planned in case the parking lot is full.

Explore 51 trails near Waimea, HI
  1. Parking

    22.051663, -159.659993
  2. Main Trailhead

    22.051595, -159.659971
  3. Vista of Waimea Canyon

    22.052497, -159.65895
    Vista of Waimea Canyon
  4. Vista of Waimea Canyon and massive waterfall

    22.051986, -159.658906
    Vista of Waimea Canyon and massive waterfall
  5. Iliau (only found on Kauai)

    22.051519, -159.659667
    Iliau (only found on Kauai)
Explore other trail routes for this hike, added by the MyHikes Community via Trip Reports.
No community routes found. To add your own route as a Community Route for this Trail guide, please leave a Trip Report with a GPX file on this Trail.

Hazards

Rockfalls / Ledges / or Scrambles

Seasons

All
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36 '

Total Change
59 '

Ascent
57 '

Descent

Photo Albums

2 Trip Reports

No Star-Ratings
Write-up by:
Admin user profile picture
0.3 miles / 0.5 km
Trail added
June 28, 2022
Hiked on
June 25, 2022
Updated on
July 06, 2022
0.3 miles / 0.5 km
June 25, 2022
Hiking

Weather Forecast

In Waimea, HI

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