Hike to the bottom of Wailua Falls

Wailua Falls is a 173 foot waterfall located on the South Fork Wailua River near Lihue. I would come to Kauai just to go to the base of Wailua Falls.

The trail to the bottom can be very slippery and is pretty steep. Highly recommend wearing shoes with good tread. Be ready to get muddy. The falls are beautiful from the top, but it’s a spiritual experience at the bottom. Note that during times of especially high precipitation on the island, the falls can actually turn into a single giant and raging falls. During high flow, the falls often sports a third-tier flow. And while Wailua Falls is always magnificent, we believe it is most beautiful when it has a moderate flow. Very easy to find and limited parking, early in the morning best time to go to beat crowds. Caught a rainbow while there and a lot of crazy people who hike down a muddy path to get to the bottom of the falls for a swim under the falls. Was tempted but the mud seemed too slippery to me. Went a couple of times and the rain one night changed the whole appearance of the falls from a nice white to a heavy dirty flow.