Along the road to Hana is the opportunity to get out and stretch your legs to see the 400 foot Waimoku Falls waterfall. This 2 hour hike is gorgeous and takes you 1.8 miles into the Kipahulu Forest Reserve. If hiking isn’t your thing or if you are crunched for time there are other pools of water to see at this stop. They’re called the Pools of ‘Ohe’o or the Seven Sacred Pools. Most of the signage along the roadways calls out “Seven Sacred Pools” as it is the primary tourist destination. 

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We chose to do the full Waimoku Falls his which anybody can do, though I wouldn’t advise bringing small children. The hike is mostly uphill and, since it’s in the rainforest climate, also mostly mud. The majority of hikers on this trail were not hikers and many were not in appropriate footwear, including myself, but the site at the end was well worth the muddy feet. 

The trail starts out very wooded with lush tropical plants and the path is pounded down dirt before turning into grassy trails through more thick brush and trees. The banyan trees along this path are enormous and the glimpses of the river ravine remind you of what you are aiming to see at the end. 

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The most beautiful experience along this hike comes after you cross the river via footbridge and climb a set of stone steps. At the top of the steps you are plunged into a bamboo forest. Thousands of sticks of bamboo go straight up leaving no leaves below. It’s very dim inside this bamboo forest and narrow walking bridges have been laid down above the ground to weave the hikers through the sea of perfectly vertical sticks. 

As you near the end of the trail, there really is no warning since the forest is too thick to see through. You walk around a bend and then you get to see the full glory of the tall, skinny waterfall that is Waimoku Falls. The falls is so distracting that the rock hopscotch across the river doesn’t seem like much of a task. But, hopefully, you make it and are able to join all of the other onlookers on the rocky bank at the end of the forest trail. 

Some people, who come prepared, are able to swim in the pool the waterfall lands in but most simply stand or sit, craning their necks to try to view the entire waterfall. Trying to capture a picture of the entire waterfall from the trail is nearly impossible, it’s simply too tall. It is nice to come so close to the bottom of a waterfall because you get to experience its clattering sounds and the weight of the water crashing below. This waterfall is so vertical that water is often falling through open air rather than following a carved path. It is also not a large volume of water so you can see right through it as it falls. 

Waimoku Falls is tall, it’s in a beautiful location, and the hike it takes to get there is unique and worth the effort. How long you spend at the top is entirely up to you but it is where the trail ends and there is not much to do than sit and rest or watch and swim before making the trek right back down. 

A note of caution: Although there were bathroom facilities near the parking lot at the base of the hike, all water for the sinks was shut off, presumably because people were using them to rinse off their muddy hands and feet. I would have too in all honesty. That mud is a special kind of mud, it was sticky. So, my advise is to pack smart. Bring plenty of water, wipes, and a change of shoes.