In fact, the entire body kind of curls up, the shoulders hunch over, the knees bend deeper as the face grimaces and the feet quickly take turns popping up as if they’d landed on a hot iron. Under hiking shoes, it crunches unobtrusively, but under bare feet the opposite end of the body emits a lot of groaning and yelps. We headed out under dripping foliage, my partner tiptoeing along the pebble-strewn asphalt that as you step onto the path quickly turns to large chunks of newly minted gravel, meaning the cut is fresh and sharp. The fall through spring months bring wetness, but the upside is that it means a heftier waterfall. We had set out on a sunny morning boasting picture-perfect blue skies, but as we parked at the back of the valley, darkly bruised skies crawled over the mountain and we had to wait out a tropical downpour in the car. Photo: Getty ImagesĪfter several years’ absence, I brought along a hiking buddy, a barefoot enthusiast (“It’s soft and muddy, your feet will love it,” I remember coaxing) to revisit my childhood haunt. Almost impossible to skirt around the long swatches of unwelcoming gloppy slush from all that rain and the trudging of all those feet meant no one emerged without a pair of clammy feet that needed to be peeled out of dirt encrusted shoes, and the gunk that splashed up your legs needed some serious soap and scrubbing to remove. In the following years, because of its proximity to town and its relatively easy terrain and short length, Mānoa Falls Trail became heavily populated with hikers and tour groups that trudged through the pristine rainforest, eroding the path. Call our office or book online to take advantage of our low price guarantee today.As a kid in the late 70s, before hiking in Hawaiʻi was quite the popular pastime it is today, I’d run barefoot along a thin trail through dense bamboo jungle and emerge at a towering waterfall where I’d promptly hop into its shallow pool, not another soul in sight. To ensure your spots on tour, we recommend reserving your tours In many cases, tours sell out weeks or months inĪdvance, especially our top seller Sea Life Park Luau. Of course, to guarantee the best views of hidden waterfalls, you’ll want to join the experts.ĭue to the high volume of visitors traveling to Hawaii year round, our Oahu tours and Oahu activities Keep your eyes open after a rainstorm and you may spot one. Truly one of Hawaii’s must see sites, waterfalls are located all over the islands, and there are even some that are easy to spot from many highway lookouts.

Manawaiopuna Falls – Hanapepe Valley, Kauai.

Hi’ilawe Falls – Waipio Valley, Big Island.

Honokohau Falls – West Maui Mountains, Maui.

When visiting Hawaii, you must get out and find these waterfalls:

Call our office or book online to take advantage of our low price guarantee today. To ensure your spots on tour, we recommend reserving your tours today. In many cases, tours sell out weeks or months in advance. However, the end result is so worth it.ĭue to the high volume of visitors traveling to Hawaii year round, our Hawaii tours and Hawaii activities sell out quickly. Also located near Hilo is Akaka Falls, though this towering waterfall is a little more of a journey, and requires about a 1-mile hike in each direction. Finding this waterfall is a piece of cake, and when the falls are flowing, the power of the falls is incredible. Waterfalls like Rainbow Falls on the Big Island are found just off of the main road, in this case from Hilo, just a short drive from town.

Created by heavy rains that create the rainforest and tropical environment, waterfalls are the result of hundreds of years of erosion and weathering, forcing a path over rocks and down long drops, sometimes hundreds of feet from the end of the stream to the freshwater pool below. Roaring waterfalls add to the picturesque beauty of the islands, giving the island just one more feature to fall in love with, and giving visitors just one more reason to explore the islands. One of the most amazing sites on Oahu is driving on the H3 from Kaneohe to Honolulu after a heavy rain, when dozens of waterfalls in the Ko’olau Mountains become active, providing a site unlike any other. Many waterfalls are found just a short hike from neighborhoods and towns on each island, and some can be spotted from the road while driving. As closely associated with Hawaii as picture perfect beaches and rainbows that stretch across the sky are hidden waterfalls that are found deep within the lush rainforests that make up the islands.

Big waterfall hikes oahu