Waipoo Falls

80ft of pacific magic

Hopefully you are familiar with the Waimea Canyon now from my previous post if not catch up here! Inside this massive and amazing canyon is an 80 foot free falling waterfall called Waipoo Falls. Before getting to Kauai I did tons of research on what to do and I stumbled upon a website talking about hiking to the top of this waterfall. It actually sounded like a dream to me. But I wrote it down on my itinerary and did some more research to be sure. I tried to get as much info as possible to avoid surprises, but it still turned into a pretty spontaneous and adventurous time!

Once we got to the first lookout and saw just how far away and small that waterfall was we immediately got nervous. I kept reassuring him that it was only supposed to be a two mile hike. We kept driving and stopped at about three different lookouts. I was getting nervous that we would never find the trail and my dreams would be crushed. At one of the lookouts there were about three trail heads but none of them said 'Waipoo Falls' like my itinerary said! I was getting discouraged but we decided to drive just a little bit further incase. 

And boy was I glad we did! We saw lots of cars pulled of on the sides of the road and then a dirt road peeled-off to the side. It said "This Way to Waipoo Falls. 4WD ONLY". I was so excited and sad at the same time. We had this old PT Cruiser for our rental and their was NO way it was strong enough to make it down that road. But we did not let that stop us. We parked the car up top and started trucking. 

I am so proud of this kid because he did the entire hike in locals. It is not advised: his feet were pretty sore the next day ha! But that just shows you that this hike is very manageable. The dirt road is .75 miles from the start of the trail head which went by fast on the way down because well- we were going down hill. But you could totally feel those steep hills on the way back up. My biggest tip when coming to Kauai is renting a jeep or a 4WD car you will have so much more access to things and feel much safer. I'll be talking more about it my Travel Tips To Kauai post. 

The parking lot at the bottom was not very full and almost everyone was actually getting ready to leave. You will see the start of the trail head because it is marked with a sign. One tip for this hike is on every fork in the road or sign you see some locals were nice enough to carve in arrows and the word falls so you know which route to take. And yes they can be trusted thats how we got there!

This hike was probably my second favorite on Kauai just behind the Na Pali. There was so many cool parts to it and knowing that we were hiking deeper into the Canyon was super surreal to me. 

There are some awesome natural lookouts and over views of the canyon. After you hike through the trees and more forest part you will actually just pop out into the canyon!

The trail head is a pretty easy hike but there were some inclines and narrow pathways so just be very cautious and go slow while hiking. The proper footwear is highly recommend but not 100% necessary. 

I loved the Garden Isle because it was so green. It makes the colors of the canyon stand out even more. You will eventually get to this like natural segway to the fall. It is a ledge that basically is on top of the falls which you walk out to. It it the most amazing way to see the canyon by far I highly recommend it. It is so cool because you really are in there!

We took it as a perfect photo-opportunity! You might have seen this on my Instagram here. 

The views were unreal 360 degrees! You will not be disappointed. To actually be standing inside the canyon is so surreal and something I recommend to everyone! Seeing it from the lookouts is stunning, but to be standing in the canyon is breath-taking. 

Finally you peel of through a few bushes to get to the actual waterfall! That was one of the best parts of the hike because there was so many vibrant flowers! Bring lots of water on this hike because their is not a lot of shade and especially in summer it can be very very hot. 

And there it is! Rashawn was a little disappointed at first because you couldn't see more of the actual waterfall. But then when we go back and look at the first three pictures for perspective its actually unreal to think we were standing right there INSIDE the canyon at the top of the waterfall. I was fully content. 

A fellow hiker was kind enough to offer to take our picture even though it turned out super blurry and not so flattering it is still a nice keep sake from that moment. 

Please don't go in or near the water. The drop off is fatal and not worth the Instapic! Also be respectful while hiking and always pick up your trash! The hike is 2 miles total from the start of the trail but just under four miles when you add in the dirt road distance. We definitely got our exercise for the day. 

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how to get here

 

There will be a sign pointing you to the path at the top of the road. But like I mentioned you must have 4WD to do down this .75 mile road, otherwise you can walk it like us! From there the parking lot has a clear trial head sign and visible path. 

warning

This hike does contain narrow pathways and steep drop offs into the canyon. Always use your best judgment and stay aware of your surroundings. Bring lots of water because this trail will make you sweat! Tennis shoes are not needed, but highly recommended, good foot support always helps! Finally, if you are prone to allergies be sure to take some Zyrtec and bring tissues!