Our first trip to the Big Island blew me away. Many of their waterfalls completely dwarf those we typically find around Oahu, especially Hawaii’s 442′ Akaka Falls.

Only very few of our waterfall adventures on Oahu have maintained (or even marked) trails, so getting to walk on a paved path felt like a real treat to us.

As you are making your way through the state park, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a few smaller cascades. It’s funny to me because most people probably don’t even pay attention to the little ones, but on Oahu we sometimes hike for hours to find a small waterfall like this.

The park had paved walkways and stairs throughout, making your walk to the waterfall super easy and barely an inconvenience. Being able to walk through such a dense jungle without leaves and branches continuously hitting you in the face just seemed to good to be true.

Akaka falls state park is very accessible compared to waterfall hikes on Oahu. A 15 minute nonchalant stroll brought us down to the lookout.

At nearly 450 feet, Akaka falls towers over just about every waterfall I’ve seen on Oahu. It was a super easy walk and a beautiful little diversion if you are driving by on the Hawaii Belt Road near Hilo. Because this waterfall is located on a state park, it is only open from sunrise to sunset (so no night photography). A bonus for Hawaii residents is that the admittance fee is waved, but there is a small fee to entry (and perhaps a parking fee now too) if you are an out of state visitor. Do not be deterred if it is raining, it will only make the waterfall more awesome.





