A beautiful waterfall and jungle - Akaka Falls State Park, Hawaii
Written: Oct 16 '07
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Pros: 420+ foot Akaka Falls, Jungle setting, Easy walk, Free
Cons: Kahuna Falls isn't that spectacular
The Bottom Line: Akaka Falls is definitely worth the stop for anyone traveling through the area or for anyone staying in Hilo
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| jps246's Full Review: Akaka Falls State Park |
If you’re traveling on Highway 19 north of Hilo, Hawaii and want to see a Hawaiian waterfall close up then turn off 19 and travel the couple of miles up Akaka Falls Road and take walk to both Akaka and Kahuna Falls. The walk is easy, but the views and the experience are tremendous.
Finding Akaka Falls State Park
Akaka Falls State Park is located a few miles to the west of Highway 19 and is accessed by Akaka Falls Road, which travels from the village of Honomu. The turn for Honomu is about 15 miles north of Hilo.
The park is located at the end of Akaka Falls Road. The road ends in a small u-shaped parking lot that provides parking for a number of cars and some larger parking spots for buses. This is a popular spot to stop at and the spots were almost filled up when we were there. Also a number of smaller buses came and went as we were there.
At the parking area there’s a restroom, but that’s about it.
The park, like all the other state parks on Hawaii is free.
Getting to the Falls
The trail to Kahuna Falls and Akaka Falls makes a large loop around the area and it can be walked so that you either come to Kahuna Falls first or Akaka Falls. When we were there the portion of the loop that went to Kahuna Falls from the parking lot was closed for repairs, so we headed to Akaka Falls. The whole loop is almost a half a mile, so the walk to Akaka Falls was about half of that and Kahuna Falls was probably about half the distance again past Akaka Falls.
The trail is very well maintained. It’s a mixture of cement and pavement. The path itself is gently sloping and when it comes to steeper areas, steps have been built. There are guardrails in places, especially where there are steep drop offs from the trail.
The trail travels through a rainforest to the falls and it is definitely tropical. We were there late in the morning and it was quite hot (mid 80s) and the humidity was quite high. We made sure to bring some water with us as we were walking down to the falls.
People were walking in flip flops and sandals, but I’d suggest a pair of sneakers or sturdy shoes since the pavement and cement can be wet and slippery and you don’t want to lose your footing.
Plan to spend about an hour at the Park, which gives you plenty of time to walk around and to stop and enjoy the falls.
Akaka Falls
When the trail reaches the viewpoint for Akaka Falls you are pretty much directly across from the falls and you have a wide open view of it. The river pours over the falls and goes down 442 feet into a gorge. Since it rains all the time here, the river is usually quite high too – so it’s a torrent of water traveling over and the mist from the water’s impact at the bottom blow up the sides of the gorge.
When you stand right at the edge of the viewing area against the railing you can see all the way down to the bottom of the falls. It’s really cool to take the whole thing in. You can hear the water roaring and to think how tall it is, the whole thing is amazing.
At the viewing area there’s a small covered pavilion with a picnic table, but besides that, there is nothing but the view of Akaka Falls.
From here, you can either turn around and go back to the parking area or you can continue on the trail, which climbs a bit and then descends to the viewpoint for Kahuna Falls.
Kahuna Falls
The trail between Akaka Falls and Kahuna Falls is a little less well maintained the trail between Akaka Falls and the parking lot, but it’s not in bad shape. You continue to make your way through the jungle until you reach a small viewpoint that looks across the gorge to the Kahuna Falls cascade that tumbles down the mountainside into the gorge.
I have to admit I wasn’t that excited about it after seeing Akaka Falls. Even though Kahuna Falls is large and pretty, it’s not a waterfall, but a cascade down a fairly steep slope and it’s just not as impressive as Akaka Falls. I called it “The not quite as impressive as Akaka Falls Falls” and everyone else that was with me agreed.
I think if you walked the loop from the parking lot seeing Kahuna Falls first, it wouldn’t seem so non-exciting as you wouldn’t have already been wowed by Akaka Falls.
Final Thoughts
If the maintenance work on the loop trail is finished, definitely walk from the parking lot to Kahuna Falls and then to Akaka Falls. Its well worth it and you’ll get to explore the rain forest, see a jungle cascade and then be simply wowed by the huge and powerful Akaka Falls.
I loved this waterfall and got some great photographs. If I were traveling in the area again, I would most likely stop, if only to take the whole loop this time to see more of the jungle and to enjoy Akaka Falls again.
This is definitely worth the stop for anyone traveling through the area or for anyone staying in Hilo, since the Park is less than a half an hour from the city.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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