Kokee Park is in the middle of Waimea Canyon and on the Na Pahli coast. The Na Pahil coast is uninhabited and the only way to access it is by boat. There are tons of hiking trails along throughout Waimea Canyon. We started off at Kokee Park museum and from there you can see a very primitive trail map. We took pictures of the map and headed out along a 4x4 trail. Best idea ever!! We got to see so much more of the park and canyon that way. We'd drive along, park, and go hike through the forest of trees on smaller trail heads.
We didn't go any of the typically waterfall locations, we headed towards the summit of the park, housing the wettest place on earth. It rains 460 inches of rain a year at a spot in the canyon. The hike itself was a pure contrast, you drive through desert and a canyon that looks similar to the Grand Canyon with trees of both tropical and mountain regions. It was really amazing.
When we heard water we would hike down canyon to see a small waterfall or rapids through the boulders and rocks. We really shouldn't have driven our little rental car in that area. Jeff has amazing driving skills! We only got semi-stuck once. Our first rental car in Kauai had a transmission that was going out, so we stopped to trade it in for a Jeep on our way to the park. No dice - they were out of Jeeps, so we took another Nissan Altima. It made it through some crazy passes it probably shouldn't have. We were super glad we stopped and traded cars, the other one would have left us stranded for sure.
At the end of the drive/hike we finally got to the summit and at the peak you could see the Na Pahli coastline. It was an incredible view down the canyon into the water. We were above the cloud line at just over 5410 feet, so we literally had our heads in the clouds as
a few rolled in.
This area was relatively remote and not crowded at all. At the lookout points and 2-3 times on the road we ran into people, otherwise we were on our own in the jungle. I imagine this place is a bit busier in the summer months. It was quite a bit cooler up on the mountain, especially as the sun went down and we headed down the mountain towards civilization. One interesting observation was that although the trail maps were a bit rustic, the trails and at the vistas very well maintained and the grass was even mowed along the roadways.