Maunawili Falls
Maunawili Falls
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TravisAshburn
Simpsonville, SC15 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2018 • Family
If you like to slip & slide on mud for over two hours and risk getting injured to see a not really impressive waterfall surrounded by teenagers jumping then this is your hike. Seriously, my wife and son, who are both in great shape, were both injured on this hike. My wife cut her hand (mud all over and in the cut) and bruised her legs due to slipping and my teenage son lost his footing while standing and landed full force on his forearm causing a major contusion. We thought at some point in the hike the muddiness and Vasoline level slipperiness would end, but it didn't...ever. Do not go on this hike unless you are a thrill seeker (that's cool) and plan to jump the 25 foot or up to 45 foot cliffs at the waterfall. Otherwise it just isn't worth the risk.
Written 5 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Daniel J
Baltimore, MD29 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2018 • Friends
This hike flat sucked. It was the worst hike of my life, and I lost a toenail on a different hike. The toenail-losing hike was still better, by orders of magnitude. To say that the Maniwili Falls Trail is muddy is like saying outer space is big. You will slog through the worst hiking conditions you have ever seen, minute after miserable minute, carefully picking each step in a vain attempt to avoid falling and, dare I say it, enjoy yourself. This hike is so psychologically tiring I have to think it exists as a practical joke or rite of initiation. Once you reach the end, is it worth it? No. A small waterfall, maybe 20 feet high, bedecked with a garland of cannonballing teenagers. There is so much to do in Oahu, don't waste your time with this.
Written 12 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wendy R
18 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2014 • Family
Aloha everyone! I live near the falls, and with the help of many local people and organizations, I have made a guide to help everyone hike the falls safely. Please visit maunawilifalls.com (a completely volunteer effort with no ads nor monetary compensation of any sort) to learn everything you will need to get safely through this trail. I will share the most important tips here. I know my advice can sound stern, but I actually have a sincere desire to have people come and enjoy the trail leaving as little impact on the land as possible. I like to see people smiling with their shoes muddy as they leave with friends and family after a successful hike. The way you prepare for this trail has a real tangible impact that has been very easy to see lately - some parts of the trail that used to be ten feet wide are now thirty feet wide and totally just muddy and the litter is increasing. I thank everyone who read this! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! We love hikers who prepare!

1. Please start the hike before 4 pm (hikers get lost all the time on the trail especially in the dark which happens around 6:30 pm plus or minus an hour year round.)
2. Wear mosquito repellent
3. Wear shoes that can get REALLY muddy! Reef walkers, Vibrams, washable athletic shoes. Don't bring slippers, flip flops, or non-washable athletic shoes. You have to cross a big stream/river three times minimum.
4. Don't hike on a rainy day - flash floods can injure, kill, or strand people. We had 3 search and rescue calls that involved a helicopter rescue and/or hospital care just yesterday in the rain!
5. Pack your trash out with you. There are no trash barrels.
6. Use Maunawili District Park toilets (about a 5 minute drive from the trailhead)
7. Don't drink the water or swim with an open wound (leptospirosis danger)
8. The jumps from high perches do injure people's spines sometimes. The water is shallow for that tall of a jump, so jump at your own risk after watching others and knowing how to do it right. Also know you are taking a real risk that sometimes results in helicopter rescue and lasting back damage.
9. The bus is easier, but if you park in the neighborhood, follow the law and don't block driveways or fire hydrants.
10. Leave your valueables at the hotel room or at home, not in your car. In the summer especially there are smash and grab car break-ins.
11. No tour groups are allowed on the trail, so if you want to take a tour guide, you need to go on the other trails that allow commercial activity.
12. Plan to carry young children. They get tired and they fall a lot. And they have trouble navigating the river crossings. It's just too slick for most children under 6 or 7 years old to stay on their feet.

My opinion: This trail is in the process of being revamped. Right now it is just in a planning phase so it will take years before it is actually done, but the local community is trying to respond to some real and severe problems with trail use until then. It is not a developed trail - it is just a dirt path through a forest that has THOUSANDS of visitors a year. So as you can imagine, with no bathrooms, no gravel or paving on the trail to stop the deforestation, no trash barrels, and inconsistent/missing signage, we have trouble with litter, slips and injuries, deforestation, tresspassing, litter, and people using the trail as toilets. Also, where you used to arrive and share the waterfall with a few people, ocassionally having it to yourself, now it is MUCH more crowded. Peak weekends mean that you have 75+ people at a waterfall that is only about 15 feet tall, with a pool the size of a normal sort of swimming pool (20' square?) It really feels crowded when it has that many people. I would say at this time, it is not the best waterfall trail. I thought it was 5/5 a few years back, but with the increase in visitors, the quality of the trail is plummeting. Manoa is newly revamped and reportedly the better option at this point (and a much taller waterfall!) Likewise, Waimea Falls is fully developed and very beautiful. The only downside is that neither of them have a swimming hole, but they are more scenic. There are some other falls with or without swimming holes that tour groups can help you find that are also very lovely and a little more manageable trail quality (not so muddy). If you are going to do this hike, I think you will enjoy it, but please take the time to plan so you come out with good memories. Mahalo for reading to the end! We appreciate respectful visitors!
Written 27 May 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mrs12345612
West Point, NY1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2015 • Couples
This is a beautiful and shady hike. We had a great time. Fast forward about 48 hours and hubby got very sick. It took us several more days to figure out that he had contracted leptospirosis (I'll spare you the details but it was not fun and it took about a week for him to recover.) The crazy thing is that he only swam for a few minutes... Just long enough to swim across the small pond, jumping off the rocks one time, and swim back across.

Bottom line... We would do the hike again and skip the swim. I just waded in the water and had no problems. Water sandals (Keens or similar) made it easy to cross the streams.
Written 7 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

miloliilife
miloliilife1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Okay for starters atleast we found decent parking compared to other trails where you plan to hike yet thruout the entire hike your worrying sick that some person from the hood's gonna bust in your car and jack your ride. This neighborhood is really decent and growing up there on the Windward side of Oahu. I pretty much know the does and donts and what happens where. Theres a neighborhood watch system going on in this pretty high class neighborhood, so by all means your car should be safe. Just be sure as with all places to not leave any valuables in the vehical.

Okay for those traveling by bus, your in luck. Theres a bus route that runs right thru this beautiful subdivision and will even drop you off at the trail head.

If you plan to do this hike and are aware of previous rainny weather conditions be sure to have drainholes in your hiking shoes or boots. It gets pretty slippery around here and theres maybe about 7 rivers to cross that gets you pretty wet. There is a summit area beautiful for picture taking and I wouldve posted some pix for you all, but the battery died at the summit.
The waterfall looks pretty dirty when its crowded and its because when alot of people are in the pool they chum the floor and kick up mud. But I went swimming and it was great. Theres an area you can walk up to actually jump off into the pool. But I would not recommend doing so. The pool where the water drops deadcenter is probabley about 10 feet deap and jumping from a 25 foot drop I still dont find that to be safe. I know because I dive alot in oceanwater. My average dive freestyle is 25 feet. Thats with no air. So when I swam out in that pool and tried to dive down I felt the ground and beleive my estimate of 10 feet to be accurate.

It is a beautiful hike and so worth all the climbing. Pack lite lunch and drining water. Have Fun all I hoped this information will be helpful. Im posting some pix. Check it out.
Written 17 June 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tom L
Parker, CO99 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019 • Friends
Depending on the time of the year, the trail, which is about 2.5 miles each way, can be muddy or dry. Most often it is muddy and VERY SLIPPERY - think walking on brown colored KY Jelly for 2.5 miles! The trail is comprised of up and down sections, climbing thru trees and walking across a shallow stream at least twice. Best to wear tennis shoes or hiking shoes.

This time I lead a group of 13 and we ranged in age from 30s to 60s. Everyone LOVED IT. The hike is through a rain forest and has some awesome views of the Oahu mountain range and the Pacific Ocean on the north side of the island. Once there the water fall is beautiful and people will be jumping off cliffs with stations at 10', 30' or 60' heights. Plan on a 3-4 hour journey and bring water.
Written 5 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GregSarahM
Portland, OR74 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2016 • Couples
This is not an easy hike and the wetter it gets the harder it can become. However it is not a major tourist hike and you will be able to enjoy some isolated hiking. With that said, the views are great but you need to be prepared so you can enjoy the hike. You should have water, mosquito repellant, towels, socks and shoes you don't care about. Start early enough in the day as it can get dark quickly...the sun sets on the opposite side of the island putting you on the shady side, you are on the cloudy side of the island and you will be under significant tree cover for most of the hike.

I used google maps to find the trail head and it worked fine. I landed in a neighborhood and ended up parking on the street. If you see a service road with a closed metal gate, then you are headed the right direction. As you walk along the service road there is a wooden sign on the left hand side that points to the start of the trail, which is on the right hand side and go along the service road for a short distance. And that's when it starts.

The trail is muddy, uneven and at times littered with roots. As you walk along it appears as though there are several trails that branch off from the main trail, this may or may not be true. However most of those branches have been created to help you get around the main trail which at times seems impassible, and usually take you away from the main trail for only a few yards. As you continue on the trail you will near the creek, which should be on the right hand side.

There is a point at which you will cross the creek. The trail opens up a little bit right next to the creek. If you look across the creek you should see a wooden sign and if you have good enough eyesight you will see that it says Maunawili Falls and points up the creek. This is your sign to cross the creek and continue on the trail. My wife and I were able to cross the creek without getting our feet wet, by stepping carefully on large rocks.

Now you will be hiking along the trail with the creek on your left hand side. At this point you will feel like you are in the middle of nowhere and that potentially you are in a horror film. Stop, take a deep breath and enjoy this muddy hike because if you aren't enjoying yourself by now then you probably won't because the second half of the trail is more challenging than the first. You will continue to hike in mud. As you head up the hill you get good views of the mountains and valleys.

You will eventually come to an unmarked, small fork in the road. The smaller fork points into the bushes and the larger goes down the hill with manmade steps. I don't know where the small fork goes, but the steps down lead to the waterfall. Take caution as the steps down aren't just steep and muddy, but can be quite slippery. At the bottom of the steep steps down is the creek.

At this point you need to buck up and hike in the creek because 50 yards up the creek is the waterfall. The view of this isolated waterfall is beautiful. Now after you've had your fill, hike back to the muddy bank where you began hiking up the creek. I would reapply mosquito repellant as yours likely washed off or you sweat it off (I didn't do this and both my wife and I ended up with half dozen-dozen mosquito bites each...and they seem to itch worse than our local mosquito). Then hike back to your car.

When we got to the car we took our socks and shoes off, sat on towels and drove back to our hotel. I threw my socks away, as I planned, but tried to wash and salvage my lawn mowing tennis shoes. After spending 5-10 minutes washing 1 shoe in the hotel room shower, I realized that no matter how clean I thought I was getting the shoe, all future socks put inside the shoes would get filthy. So I chucked the shoes.

While I did see a couple in their 20's on the trail that stated they never made it to the falls. I also saw pre-teens, teenagers, and a dad carrying an infant on his back, who at some point all had to do everything I stated above.
Written 6 November 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sjc43
Nazareth, PA451 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2014 • Family
Read a rather misleading description in the Oahu Revealed guidebook. I wish I had read the excellent guide written by an earlier reviewer. Very muddy, very slippery in spots, lots of bugs. Half of our group quit at the first river crossing and the other half persisted until the end but said the going got even rougher towards the end. They jumped in from a shorter cliff and had fun. We found the signage to be kind of easy to miss.
Really, read the earlier review by the person who lives nearby. It says it all.
Written 15 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

IridescentDragons
Kailua, HI10 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2012 • Family
I live in the area and know a lot of ins and outs of this hike. It is 1.5 miles of lush foliage, slippery mud, and exposed rocks/tree roots. You cross the river at least twice.

1. Take your valuables with you.
2. Lock your car. Car theft is rare, but it did happen at least once this summer.
3. Wear the right shoes. I suggest reef walkers or washable tennis shoes for this one. The mud on the trail stains things permanently red, and can be EXTREMELY slippery. Sturdy, washable shoes are a must.
4. Pack out your trash. There is no restroom and no garbage service on the trail. We hate to see litter on the trail! It can get in the rivers and wash into the ocean, hurting the wildlife along the way.
5. Stay on the big wide trail and don't cross the river until the main trail disappears. You only need to cross water twice on the way up, and it is when you are almost at the falls. You will then need to cross it twice on the way down.
6. Trail Hazards: Be careful about slippery rocks, getting lost in the thick foliage, flash floods (don't hike when it is raining hard or the river will swell dangerously high), and (most of all) jumping off the waterfall cliffs. Rescue helicopters end up flying into the falls area at least once a week during the height of the season. Don't let it be you!
7. The water carries leptosporosis, but most people are able to swim just fine. Don't go in if you have an open cut, and don't drink the water. People really do get it sometimes from this particular falls.
8. Wear mosquito repellent. This is not the worst place on the island for mosquitoes, but they do thrive and will truly bother most people.

If you follow those guidelines, you should have a great hike. It is safe enough that I think most 8 year old kids would be able to do it and enjoy it. Kids younger than that probably won't have the stamina to finish the hike, or will struggle too much with the slippery mud to enjoy it. The ending point is a small waterfall with a deep cold swimming pool full of little fish that nibble your toes if you hold still. It is best for people who want to swim. If you just want to look at a waterfall, but not swim, I suggest Manoa Falls. Shorter hike, the falls are taller, the trail is marked more clearly, closer to Honolulu, and the plants are equally lush. Many of the same safety tips I shared here also apply to any hike in Hawaii.
Written 10 August 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SierraK31
Sacramento, CA5 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2011
I am a fairly experienced hiker and this is the worst trail I have EVER been on. Most reviews state it is a 45-60 minute hike to get to the falls, but it took us 2 hours. The ENTIRE trail is thick, soaking wet mud and tree roots. Furthermore, the trail is not well marked once you get on it. One has to cross the creek several times, but you have to guess as to where to cross. Once you reach the end of the trail - which ends after a very long flight of very steep and slick stairs - you have to hike in the river for a few minutes to get to the falls.The falls themselves are very dull and end in a murky pool. There was absolutely NOTHING redeeming about this hike and we were very disappointed to have wasted a day on it.
Written 18 May 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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