Crouching Lion is easily one of our favorites....so much so, that we've probably done it 12-15 times. Although it’s in a more remote part of the island and will likely require a bit of a drive, the hike is super quick and easy and leads to one of the best views on the island. You might be inclined to want to skip this one, but we can assure you, that would be a mistake. We seem to always score some unbelievable conditions at crouching lion, including a ridiculous double rainbow (pictured above). The lighting here just seems to always line up perfectly.
The actual "crouching lion" rock is basically just a 15 min hike right above the first platform. Everyone always just stops here, takes 49 selfies, and calls it a wrap. Don't be a dummy like these people. All the best stuff is further up the trail. Even the viewpoint just 5 min up the trail (after the section through the windy trees) is 5x better than the initial platform everyone stops at. The BEST view, and maybe a top 3 view on the island, is just another 15ish min up the trail. This is where the majority of the images taken above were taken. Don't want to try and find it yourself? Here are the exact coordinates. As mentioned above, we have done this hike A LOT, and we almost never run into hikers up here so you can escape the crowd and get the best view all to yourself with just another 15-20min of hiking. You can follow this ridge line pretty far. However, while the views are pretty epic further up the ridge line, the best view is still at the coordinates linked above. If you turned back here, we wouldn't blame ya.
Another reason we love this hike is that it catches the sunrise AND sunset light really well. We have caught absolutely ridiculous conditions more times than not at either moring or evening golden hour periods. This gives you a bit of flexibility making it easier to work into whatever your itinerary is. Also, since this hike is fairly short/quick, you can hold out even longer as the sun sets and still get back to your car before having to break out the headlamps.
If you're perceptive, you'll probably notice broken glass in the parking lot for Crouching Lion. This hike in particular is a hot spot for car break-ins, likely because its fairly remote and in a less affluent part of town. We typically recommend this ANYWHERE on the island (particularly if you are caucasian and/or driving an obvious rental car) but DO NOT leave anything valuable in the car and in plain sight. Sometimes even with every precaution, you may not be able to avoid an incident, so don't leave anything in the car you can't live without.
You could make an argument that Crouching Lion is the best hike on the island. Its quick, not crowded, and has one of the best views on the island (coordinates above). Don't be fooled, the first platform that everyone stops and turns around at is maybe the worst view on this hike. Keep hiking maybe 15-20min up the trail and get the better views all to yourself. This hike has higher probabilities for car break ins so take anything valuable with you and keep even things that might look valuable out of plain sight.