Waialeale Mountain 'Blue Hole' Hike, Kauai, Hawaii

A 3.5-mile dirt road hike to the trailhead — 4WD strongly recommended — followed by a trail into a reservoir and up to the Blue Hole, a grotto surrounded by some of the tallest waterfalls on Earth. On this visit, at least 12 multi-tiered falls ranging from 2,000 to 3,500ft were actively cascading down the walls of the Waialeale caldera. The helicopters flying overhead for tour groups made the scale comprehensible. The Jurassic Park film used this location for a reason. Returning without entering the deeper grotto left something unfinished — worth returning to with more time and drier conditions.