The Iliau Nature Loop Trail In Hawaii That Leads To Incredibly Scenic Views
By Megan Shute|Published September 14, 2019
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Megan Shute
Author
With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
Often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” Waimea Canyon is certainly a thing of immense beauty. Nearly 10 miles long, one mile wide, and more than 3,600 feet deep, the stunning Waimea Canyon is full of striking cliffs, incredible colors, and cascading waterfalls. It is perhaps Hawaii’s most unspoiled natural beauty, and luckily for us, it’s home to several epic hiking trails — including the unparalleled Iliau Nature Loop.
With brilliant shades of red, brown, green, blue, gray and purple, Waimea Canyon State Park encompasses approximately 1,866 acres and is one of the island’s most popular tourist destinations.
Most people stop at the several lookout points found within Waimea Canyon and Koke’e State Parks, but few venture to explore the hiking trails found crisscrossing the landscape.
If you’d like to say you enjoyed a hike within the undeniably breathtaking Waimea Canyon, but are short on time or simply aren’t able to traverse ridgelines and endure massive elevation changes, you’ll want to embark on the short, simple, and stunning Iliau Nature Loop Trail.
Located at the start of the Kukui Trail, this short, .3-mile roadside loop trail on the western edge of the canyon not only gives adventures an up close and personal look at native upland scrub vegetation but afford excellent vistas of both Waimea and Waialae Canyons.
And while the views are truly terrific, they’re not the star of the show here. That would be the iliau, a unique plant belonging to the sunflower family and a close relative to the aesthetically similar and equally fascinating silversword, endemic to Mount Haleakala on the island of Maui.
The iliau lives between two and ten years, flowers once, and then dies. If you happen to visit during the right time (May through July only), you’ll enjoy a surreal fluorescent display sure to amaze you.
No matter when you visit, you'll want to make sure you don't forget your camera. You'll want to capture the landscapes found along this trail and remember them forever.
Here’s my biggest tip: if it’s raining as you make your way into the canyon, hang out for a few hours — you never know when the weather will change up here and you will get to experience the beauty of this canyon, perhaps even with a rainbow.
So, what are you waiting for? Make sure the Iliau Nature Loop is on your agenda the next time you make your way into Waimea Canyon — you won't regret it.
Have you experienced the wonder that Hawaii’s Grand Canyon? Share your experiences and opinions in the comments below. Then, if you’re looking for a longer adventure, click here to check out the Pihea Vista Trail, found within the neighboring Koke’e State Park.
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