We will be traveling to Kauai with our 3 year old in late August. What is the best time of day to visit Waimea Canyon and how much time should we plan for? We are staying at the Hyatt and realize we can't do any serious hikes with a toddler. Is a half day enough time? Thanks for any tips.

Alohaaaaa...don't know about the weather in Aug but normally with the canyon, yah pays yer money-yah takes yer chances.

Usually the morning clouds burn off by noonish when we are there.

But...We've taken some of our better pix when there are clouds coming thru it.
Great lighting....

Maybe one of our "locals" will drop by and comment.
Mucho mahalos!

Go in the morning before the clouds come in and when you get towards the summit you walk over and see one of the most photographed spots Kalalau Valley.
The green but jagged peaks slope down to the turquise colored ocean below it is often shown in movies and most anything to do with the islands.
On your way back stop in Waimea for pizza there is a little pizza shop on the end of the steakhouse which will be on your right as you go through town.

Definitely go all the way to the Kalalau Valley lookout. If the road past the main lookout is closed, walk up the road to the better view at the Pu'u o Kila lookout (not sure if the road/lookout is marked as such, however). I can't recall how long the walk along the road is to the better lookout, maybe someone else can help out there to help you determine if it would be doable with the little one.

My experience in early June a few years ago was the morning was clear, then the clouds would roll in later in the day. One afternoon at the valley lookout, it was totally socked in, so waited around a while to see if it would clear. No luck, so actually ended driving back up early in the morning before we checked out of our hotel and had beautiful clear weather that morning, allowing spectacular views down to the ocean.

Since you won't be doing any hikes in the canyon, I think half a day is plenty to see the views and walk around a bit.

The road all the way to the Pu'u o kila view point was open when we were there last year. The views from here are quite spectacular. Take a quick walk down the pathway and the views get even better as the trail eventually skirts the top of the Kalalau Valley.

It really depends on the day but most of the time the mornings are clearer.

There are a few easy hikes to get even better views of the canyon.

Half of a day is enough if you will not be hiking very far.