Wailua Falls

Feb 2016, this falls is beautiful, you can see it at close range to fell the water power, and you
can get very good picture of it, too bad that the parking is so small that a medium size
tour bus can not turn around and no tour buses go there at all, too bad. anyhow if I get the
chance, I will be back. RJ

Really nice views. Went here on a rainy day in the afternoon following most of a nearby conference day. Some of the views were quite beautiful. It’s rustic and remote with numerous flat top trees that are a unique feature of Kauai. This is no Niagra Falls, but definitely worth a visit if you’re already in Kauai and have a lazy afternoon to kill.

Visiting Kauai with my grandparents, one of the things they wanted to do was to see a waterfall. There are a lot of waterfalls in Kauai, but many are only accessible through hiking, kayaking, etc. which was out of the question for them! We found Wailua Falls as a good drivable waterfall, and it was really a treat! Just a short windy drive out of Lihue, and you’re quickly at the top of this beautiful waterfall!

Stop by and walk down. Make sure to take a swim suit and hiking shoes to get down to the falls.
Take a swim and really enjoy the falls.

Wailua Falls probably is the most beautiful sight you can see in Kauai with the least amount of work. You can drive up and look off the side of the road to see this breathtaking waterfall. We didn’t hike down because we didn’t know the way and we were also absolutely exhausted, but I still think it’s worth the drive up to take a look at it. There are hundreds of waterfalls in Kauai, but most of them require streneous hikes, kayaking, sailing, or some other expensive/​exhausting way to get to them. Not Wailua Falls. I highly recommend it.

Entrance to the descent is near the beginning where the fence starts on the right. The hike is a 15 minute mildly steep descent that can be muddy. Hiking boots would be optimal but depending on the time of year, shoes with good traction are fine. We went during November and it wasn’t so muddy. The hike has ropes to assist you all the way down. I know plenty of people say the hike is treacherous and steep, but it is so worth it! I’ve been to 10x more dangerous hikes in Oahu, and this ranks as easy in comparison.
When you reach the bottom, you will be rewarded with the hundred plus foot epic waterfall. It is by far the most beautiful waterfall I have witnessed. You see birds diving through the sky like you would in a Jurassic Park film. It’s just so surreal. One of the best parts is you can swim in the waterfall basin. The currents aren’t strong, which gives you the chance to float. We were lucky that we were the only ones to be there. Everyone else had left early but if you do get the chance to be alone, give yourself the chance to meditate or float. It can give you a new sense of appreciation and presence.
If you follow along the rock path, you can go behind the waterfall. A MUST DO! Just be sure to leave anything you don’t want to get drenched on the rocks. We were there for 5 minutes and we were soaked! But even if you can’t hike down, admiring the waterfall from the viewpoint is just as epic.

MUST SEE!!!
I spotted this waterfall from the helicopter ride. I was so happy to find out that we can get here without doing any hiking. It is basically 15 minutes from our hotel room and it ends at the top of the waterfall. If u really want to get a good shot of the waterfall, intensive hiking will be required. I believe they do have some local tour guide who will lead you to the bottom of this location.
Weather you want to drive here just to take a peak at it or do some hiking to get here, you must come here at least once to experience the natural beauty of this waterfall.

This was one of the top places we went to. The best part was the hike down the trail to the bottom. It’s not a hike for everyone, and it’s also not «legal» to do, but tons of people do it. Bring shoes/​clothes you’re okay with getting dirty (and potentially stained forever from the awesome red dirt). My board shorts and shoes have an awesome red hue to them that isn’t washing out. Anyways, the hike down requires some rope holding, and is slippery. Don’t be deterred, but if you’re not physically capable of maintaining balance or walking on some arduous trails, this isn’t for you. The view from below is incredible and the water feels great (a great reward for making the trek down). If you hike, bring water to stay hydrated.

Beautiful waterfall with the luxury of driving straight to it. Located 4 miles off the main road 56. Across from the falls was a man making hats and other items out of grass. His stuff was quite amazing and if I had room would have loved to take something home. Check out his goodies, would make for an unique souvenir. Also, there is a short hike down to the bottom of the falls. Didn’t have the time to do it on this trip but will conquer on another visit. Easy parking and seemed relatively safe. Snap your pic and off to the next destination.

mixed review here. First, I don’t care how many people (including that old Australian guy who offers photo tours of the island) tell you to take the farther path down… DONT!!! The path directly off of the main parking lot is the one you want to use. There are ropes to guide you down. Other wise you have a crappy trail and then have to hike half a mile upstream on very slippery rocks.
Any way enough of that. The falls and swimming area are beautiful… but apparently very dangerous. Directly at the falls there is quite an under toe. In addition the waves from the falls are quite powerful. Be Careful!!!
We were just hanging out there with our kids when a young gal started screaming for help. Her husband was having trouble swimming out. He nearly lost consciousness, and here is the kicker, he seemed to be in very good physical health. Had she not been there, he would not be any more. Food for thought
The water is not as cold as you would think. The climb down (if you take the right trail) is ok for kids, but maybe not older citizens. The water I believe was not as high as in can get, as I could see the water line on the rocks was several inches above its current level.
Don’t take your camera or cell phones unless you have something water proof to put it in while you visit, the mist from the falls may soak everything.

Let me start off by saying that we came to wailua falls on a whim. We had originally scheduled a na Pali cost and snorkel tour, but since the weather didn’t allow for us to go. We decided to explore Kauai and Waimea canyon and check out some waterfalls. Since it was our first time visiting Kauai, I looked on Unilocal to see what the reviews were and directions on how to get to wailua falls. It was a very easy and quick trip to get there.
Once you arrive, there is a small parking lot, where you can park your car. There are lots of people who come and check out the waterfall. So sometimes you might have to wait to park. Most people just stay on top to see the waterfall but after reading the reviews and asking a few locals from the area, they told us there was a fence/​wall that we can just hop over to get down to the falls. It took about ten minutes total. Keep in mind that you need to be very careful when climbing down as there’s lots of slippery and muddy areas. There are ropes that you can hold onto.
After you get down, it’s such an amazing view! I urge anyone who comes to the falls to make the trek down, it’s well worth it. Be careful when you walk around on the rocks as it’s very slippery because of all the algae and you can slip very easily. There are also some heart and loose rocks to be mindful of. You must must must go into the water. It’s so fresh and clean and feels amazing! The water is not too deep as there are rocks beneath that you can step on. I decided to swim to the waterfalls, but you must be careful as people have drowned near the waterfall. I would suggest to go around the sides and then climb onto the rocks and go behind the waterfall. The waterfall is beautiful and at times when the wind blows it can be a little rough because the water and wind is just smacking you in the face.
Coming back front the waterfall is a little scary as the rocks are so slippery. My boyfriend got a gash on his knee and it was really bad and bleeding everywhere. Luckily we had a towel and I used my shirt to wrap around his leg to stop the bleeding. He also swam into a rock, so please be careful. It may not seem like there’s any rocks but they are hidden.
If you are ever in Kauai, you need to check out wailua falls. You won’t regret it!

Majestic and scenic are best adjectives to describe this sanctuary. Listening to the falls splashing over the rocks and crashing below seems quite soothing and tranquil. This was one of our top 3 destinations we got to visit during the week. Could easily spend hours leaning on the wall and feeling like I’m meditating. Did not get the chance to make the hike down, but did witness others do it and it seems like it would be spectacular to get a closer view of the falls from below.

This hike was AWESOME. We went right after a flash flood so the falls were 3 or more times more powerful than usual & the hike was extra muddy. It was very short but not exactly the easiest hikes. I highly recommend hiking boots or some sort of shoes with grip on it as it gets pretty slippery & it’s very muddy. Pretty much no way for me to hold a GoPro in my hand because you need both hands to get up or down. You’ll be using a lot of tree roots to help you but you’ll be at the bottom before you know it.
I mean, yeah the water wasn’t the cleanest when we got there, and there was no way we would be able to swim because it was too powerful but just being down there was rewarding enough. Since there was so much mist & I have contacts, it was really hard for me to really look anywhere so I’ve been re-​living the experience through our blurry pictures
I must say though… BRING BUG SPRAY!!! I could not stress that enough. I left with over 100 mosquito bites (I was the worse one off, they must love me) with no exhaggeration. I counted 50 on one leg alone given there were times I stopped during the hike to take pictures of everyone. Everyone else got some bites but were definitely not as bad as mine. I still say it was worth it though.
We rushed up to get passed all the mosquitoes as fast as we could and thank goodness we did because in the last stretch of the hike, it started pouring rain. Some people may see that as a bad thing as it can get dangerous but it was just what we needed to rinse off all the mud on our hands and feet.
Also a good thing we brought towels so we didn’t make too much of a mess inside of the rental van: P
Very accomplishing & I’d never forget it. Everyone in our group loved it. I can’t wait to come back when there isn’t a flash flood.
PS. There’s a sign that say «do not enter» or something of the sort to the right of the view point. That’s where we hopped over the wall & found the trail. :)

Simply an awesome place to visit. We enjoyed the drive there as well as the lovely view of the falls. We didn’t do the hike because we really weren’t dressed for it. The parking lot is tiny compared to the number of folks who go there. But it’s totally worth it. Enjoy.

Unfortunately, this is a drive up and gawk kind of attraction. You are heavily discouraged from attempting the hike down to enjoy the splendor of the falls. Signage stating DANGER and DO NOT CROSS are everywhere. A long fence blocks most if not all the hiking access points. Although these are the famous double waterfalls from Fantasy Island 1970’s fame, there is little to do here. During heavy rains, the double falls become one massive water fall. Almost everyone I saw stayed about ten minutes, took lots of pics, then made a u-​turn and high tailed it back to the main road. Would I come back here? Nope.

«Waaaa»
Easy drive to get here. Small lot to park in. Beautiful to see. Some people hike around the falls but I’m not a hiker. I used to be, but whenever I went with people they bitched that I was too fast or too slow and that I never wanted to rest. Waaaa. Anyhow, Wailua Falls are gorgeous and should be seen. Take a few pictures too. Just don’t waste your time trying to get a shot of me with a backpack.

Wailua Falls is not meant to be a hike — the government intended for the waterfalls to be viewed from the top, most likely for safety and liability reasons. However, if you want to be adventurous, there is a trail that leads you to the bottom of the falls, where you can swim and take cool pictures in front of the waterfall.
THE TRAIL
The trail can be found right before you make the curve into the parking lot. You have to get past the road barrier, fence, and warning signs. In my opinion, the hike is split into 3 parts: the steep part with tree roots as handles, the steep part with ropes as handles, and the last flat part that leads you to the water. Most of the hike down is steep and will probably require you to use all four limbs. You will probably get dirty and your shoes will most likely get very muddy.
THE FALLS
The pool is surrounded by big rocks, and you can stand on the rocks that are on the outskirts of the pool. once you walk past the flat rocks, it gets pretty deep. The water is cold. Too cold for me to swim in. But there were a lot of other people swimming in it. You have to be careful not to swim too close to the bottom of the waterfall because apparently people have drowned there.
RAIN
It started sprinkling while we were at the bottom, and we quickly took our last pictures and packed up to make sure we don’t have to hike up in the rain — or even worse, get stuck in some kind of mudslide or flash flood. Unfortunately, it started raining HEAVILY while we were about to start the steep trail up. It was slippery, cold, and painful (I am not in shape at all, so climbing/​running up the steep, rocky slope was not cool). In retrospect, it was an awesome experience. But while I was climbing up the trail in the rain, I regretted the hike with every inch of my sore, sore body.
Overall, definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life, but not something I’d do again.

Another gorgeous waterfall in Kauai. The ‘trail’ down to the bottom is technically closed. But don’t let that stop you. Follow the road and along the fence you will see a gap. Then you’ll see ropes up blocking a ‘trail’ straight down. squeeze through and make your way down.
It’s full on STRAIGHT down and pretty muddy, but it’s way worth it. There are a series of ropes that help you in the really sketchy parts. You must have solid shoes (or go barefoot) to get up/​down this ‘trail’. Flip flops. no way.
Once you are down, the power of the waterfall is amazing. Go behind it! You cannot ‘swim’ behind it as the water is way too powerful, but you can climb the rocks/​trees.
Well worth it!

Seen from the street, the waterfalls are beautiful. Seen from underneath the waterfalls themselves, they’re breathtaking.
I took the 10 minute hike down pass the warning signs that say not to pass. Tourists were looking at us jump the short brick wall and pass the sign. The hike down is steep and when we went, it was muddy. I gave up using my rainbow sandals and went barefoot. Red squishy clay like mud under your toes, it was so gross and awesome.
There are some ropes that are tied as a guide and to help keep you up in case you slip. I slipped once and fell on my butt on a rock underneath me. I was more worried about the stain that the red dirt mud might make than the pain on my butt bone. I had help from a local friend who saved me from slipping other times. I think I might have slipped a lot more or taken 20 – 30 minutes to hike down if he wasn’t there. So beware! It’s dangerous, I can see why there were warning signs by the brick wall.
I swam over to the rocks by the waterfall. You can stand on the rocks under the cliff by the waterfall, have your back to the waterfall, look up and see the water coming down directly over your head behind you. It’s super cool, definitely unforgettable.
The lake isn’t as deep as you’d think. So when jumping off the rocks behind the waterfall back in, jump as if it’s shallow. It’s deep enough to swim in but shallow enough that when you jump you touch the floor with your feet.

Beautiful views of a Hawaiian waterfall! Not to mention an easy drive up with plenty of good parking. And (for people such as myself) lots of selfie opportunities! ;)
After a very exhausting day hiking to Secret Falls, I had concluded I was too tired to get out of the car for yet *another* view of Hawaii. Feeling guilty and not wanting to miss a potential «party», I decided to move my behind and catch up with my group.
It was the best decision. Don’t miss out on this natural wonder. It’s only a few minutes of your time and it’s totally worth it.