On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
BigJimSlade
OK, the sun broke through for the afternoon and we had great views up and down the Na Pali coast. Going through my pictures from this day was a reminder on how challenging it was to shoot from (especially as a beginner) from a helicopter – lots of blurry shots!
We round the island, turning north and follow this coast to the northeast, greeted by this scenery. View larger.
Looking down on the water and incredible shapes in the land. View larger.
More shapes. View larger.
One of the more famous views on the coast (by site anyway, I don’t know a name for it). View larger.
Another view up the coast. View larger.
I love the blue in the water – my eyes couldn’t get enough of it. View larger.
At the bottom left is the end of the road, and the beginning of the Kalalau trailhead, which we would take down the Na Pali coast for a few miles later in the trip (to go further, you need a reservation well in advance, and no fear of slipping off narrow ridges). View larger.
Haena and Tunnels beaches at Haena Point on the north side of the island. View larger.
eclare
The photos are wonderful, thank you for sharing. The colors!
Baud
Photos don’t do it justice.
OzarkHillbilly
That topography makes my mouth water.
mrmoshpotato
Wow. Even awesomer than yesterday’s photos.
Anyway
Gorgeous pics. Ocean, cliffs, coastline — unbeatable combo.
Argiope
We did a helicopter tour of the interior on our wedding trip in 1998. Saw the coast from a snorkel boat—truly one of the most glorious places on earth. We tried to find the Kalalau trailhead and somehow failed, so I’m hoping to see it here on OTR. Thanks for sharing—we’ve never been back, but this really makes me want to return.
Torrey
Amazing pictures! Thank you for sharing them.
JeanneT
Breathtaking landscape! I’m glad you shared these photos
Betty
Dramatic landscape. Easy to see why the population is pretty limited.
martha
I just love Kauai. Great photos!
Fair Economist
I got to take a Kauai helicopter tour in 2012 and it was incredible. Thanks for the pics and the post.
stinger
Wonderful photos of remarkable landforms. Thank you!
Delosgatos
We leave for Kauai tomorrow morning! Great timing, great photos!
lee
My wife has a 100% prohibition on helicopter tours.
So we (us & the kids) hiked to the coast on the Awa’awapuhi Trail.
It was a pretty tough hike thru the forest but the views at the end were spectacular. The funny thing was as we were at the edge a helicopter flew around us.
lee
@Delosgatos: If you have a rent car do not leave anything in your car. Not even a scrap of paper. Vehicles break ins are a real problem.
I also recommend the chocolate farm tour here
Kauai Chocolate Tour on a Hawaii Plantation | Lydgate Farms
Yutsano
Wow…I couldn’t handle a helicopter ride like that! The pictures are amazing.
Kelly
I paddled the Na Pali coast in 1995. Started in Hanalei traveled 17 miles to Polihale. Tropical fish and sea turtles below us. Blue sky and birds above. Paddled into some sea caves. One led to a open hole the size of a couple basketball courts. The cliff walls were a 100 feet or so and covered in active bird nests. A long day out, highly recommend.
BigJimSlade
Thanks for the nice words everybody!
BigJimSlade
@lee: That looks like a great trail!
We wanted to do one of those that go west from the road… I recall at least one of them being closed, and we weren’t sure if we would be on death-defying ridges over there.
We ended up doing the Alakai Swamp Trail. Which was very different, but neat. When we got to the end with the great views over a valley, the clouds were in so we couldn’t see diddly squat. And rats were scurrying around under the platform. We were joking, “we came all this way for fog and rats?!!” Also, there was a nice couple with 2 kids at the platform who were staying at the cabins in the park (we had considered that). They had a big (2 pound?) bag of peanut M&Ms. We were very jealous, lol.
StringOnAStick
@Kelly: Sounds wonderful, what a sea kayak tour!
These photos are really fun to view from a geologist/geomorphology perspective. The Hawaiian islands are all basalt volcanos, so they rose up by more layers of rock and ash building up, pouring a bit like syrup down the sides. Erosion has cut through those layers, exposing the (not horizontal) bedding planes, and the fourth photo shows a section of jumbled blocks, a rigid rock layer that collapsed when the softer layers underneath it were eroded away. Such incredible views! Thanks Big Jim!
Jill
I hiked that gorgeous coast many times with my husband. Once hiking it with friends we came upon a very pregnant woman with her husband. She had fallen on the slippery rock and broken her forearm badly. They needed help and my practical husband made her a rough splint, put his belt around her and held on to her to get her back down while the rest of us (3 doctors) watched