A ride on the Wailua River in Kauai

A boat loaded with visitors navigates the Wailea River on the island of Kauai. The Smith's tour company takes guests to a lush, hidden fern grotto during 1.5-hour journeys.

A boat loaded with visitors navigates the Wailea River on the island of Kauai. The Smith’s tour company takes guests to a lush, hidden fern grotto during 1.5-hour journeys.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

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Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Guide Josh Horner motors a tour boat along the Wailua River as he shares local lore with his guests. The 20-mile-long river begins in Kauai’s lush interior, which gets an average of 450 inches of rain each year.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Young men and women paddle an outrigger canoe along the Wailua River. The river is the only one in the state of Hawaii that can be navigated by watercraft bigger than canoes or kayaks.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Ti plants grow in front of Fern Grotto in Wailua River State Park on Kauai. The hidden cave is accessible only by boat.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Smith’s employees entertain guests with traditional music and dance beside Fern Grotto.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Ginger plants, with their brilliant red flowers, grow along the pathway leading to Fern Grotto in Wailua River State Park.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Water from a rain shower, common on this side of Kauai, runs off the roof of a tour boat docked at Fern Grotto.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)

Smith's Fern Grotto tours in Kauai, Hawaii

Paddle boards and kayaks are among the small watercraft that share the Wailua River with Smith’s large motorized vessels.

  (Jay Jones / For The Times)