Waimea Canyon: The Grand Canyon of the Pacific

A nickname Mark Twain probably didn't give it but everyone credits him anyway. A 14-mile gash in Kauai's west side dropping 3,600 feet. The drive from Poipu or Lihue takes an hour on Waimea Canyon Drive, climbing through dry grassland that splits open to reveal a chasm of red, green, and brown so vivid your first instinct is checking for a sunglasses filter. There isn't one. The canyon really looks like that.

The Waimea Canyon Lookout at mile 10: walls layered volcanic red and oxidized green, river a silver thread at the bottom. Pu'u Hinahina Lookout further up offers a different angle, and on very clear days Ni'ihau — the privately owned "Forbidden Island" — across the channel. The Cliff Trail from the lookout is a short walk along the rim providing angles the parking lot can't.

Continue past the canyon to Koke'e State Park and the Kalalau Lookout at the road's end — the Na Pali Coast view is among the most stunning in Hawaii. Bring layers; 3,500 feet is cooler and windier than the coast. Two lanes, winding, slow. Budget ninety minutes from Lihue. The red soil stains everything — shoes, socks, the hem of your pants. Locals call it "Kauai red dirt" with affection.