Parking
Use the paved Puaʻa Kaʻa State Wayside lot on the makai, or ocean, side of Hāna Highway. The falls path is across the highway from the restroom area; the lot can be busy during Road to Hāna stops.
Overview
About Puaʻa Kaʻa Falls Trail
Why go
- A short paved path reaches several small cascades.
- Restroom and picnic table at the wayside.
Heads up
- A very brief loop, best treated as a wayside stop rather than a hike-length outing.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Road to Hana map
Full mapElevation1,196–1,203 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Road to Hana Tour Guide
Your drive to Puaʻa Kaʻa Falls Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Road to Hana. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Road to Hana audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Puaʻa Kaʻa’s Rainforest Break0:00 / 0:23
“Puaʻa Kaʻa State Wayside is coming up, a handy rainforest break with small waterfalls and picnic tables.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Road to Hana Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Hala: Leaves for Weaving
- Hanawi Falls: A Passing View
- Upper Waikani’s Three Cascades
- Wailua Valley’s Two Views
- 48 audio storiesacross Road to Hana’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Hawaiian Monk Seal, Green Sea Turtle, Frigatebird, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 13 trails, 39 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Puaʻa Kaʻa Falls Trail
A quick falls breakPuaʻa Kaʻa Falls Trail is a 0.
Puaʻa Kaʻa Falls Trail is a 0.08-mile loop through the Puaʻa Kaʻa State Wayside to the lower cascades and pool. The short, mostly paved walk is a good Road to Hāna break when you want a stretch and a look at several small falls, not a longer hike. Allow about 10 to 15 minutes with time at the water.
Follow the lower-falls pathStart from the wayside parking and restroom area.
Start from the wayside parking and restroom area. The compact route follows the established path to the lower falls, loops back on a connected path and retraces a short piece near the start. Keep this walk to the lower falls: the separate dirt route farther upstream is a different outing, with muddier footing and a viaduct crossing. At the falls, include the rock and pool beneath the cascade in your photo; the setting gives the small drop some scale.
Facilities and water rulesThe wayside has a restroom, picnic table and trash cans, but no drinking water.
The wayside has a restroom, picnic table and trash cans, but no drinking water. Swimming is prohibited. The state lists flash floods and submerged objects as hazards around the falls, so stay out of the pools even when other visitors do otherwise.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Road to Hana
10 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
127 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
86 sightingsFrigatebirdMost seen around noonSighting map
17 sightingsRed-footed BoobyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
73 sightingsNene (Hawaiian Goose)Most seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsHawaiian StiltMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Road to Hana. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
