Likeke Falls — Attraction in Oʻahu

If you're looking for a beautiful grand waterfall, this is not the site for you, but if you're looking for a slippery jungle adventure with the challenge of keeping your tennis shoes clean and not falling, this hike is right up your alley! The teens and young families we passed seemed to have a grand time and probably polished it off in a half-hour. I would not recommend it for anyone over age 45. Unfortunately, the man taking our $7 (cost per vehicle) was unable to answer these type of questions and did not think to advise us against going. We had several sites to see packed in our day, and this was our least favorite. The trail was muddy even on a dry day, and it wasn't marked well. At one place where you are supposed to turn right, there are large logs that could only be crossed by sitting on the log and putting one leg over at a time, getting mud up your thighs and hands unless you were short and nimble enough to go under. The waterfall is only about 12' high and is really more of a cascading trickle. The hike was moderately easy but took us middle-aged folks about an hour roundtrip. There is a hose to wash mud off in front of the bathrooms located behind the church on the far side of a wall that sticks out of the hill. The one plus of this experience was hearing the bush birds chirp while you're navigating. Plants and trees line the well-worn mud gully with branches sticking out to duck under or use to pull yourself up. Sometimes there were protruding roots to help with footing. Should have taken more pictures of the mud, but needed both hands to navigate. We went mid-afternoon, and the mosquitoes were not biting as long as we kept moving. Even though shaded, it was a bit muggy, but occasionally there were cross-breezes at openings. The foliage was pretty, but it's everywhere in this southeast...

Likeke Falls: This is a pretty easy and short hike to one of Oahu's falls (there aren't a lot of them). What makes this hike interesting is that it takes you back through history. The hike starts at Nu' uanu Pali Lookout where the battle for Hawaii was won in 1795 and culminated in hundreds of men, women, and children being pushed off its cliff. Originally this route was an ancient Hawaiian footpath over the Pali Pass and one of the only safe passages over the steep Koʻolau cliffs. In 1845 stones were laid and the footpath was widened so carts and horses could transports goods to and from the windward side to Honolulu's port. Later, in 1897 the old one lane Pali road was built. Then in 1958, after the completion of the Pali tunnels, the old road was closed . Just to the right of the lookout you will find the old Pali road and this is where the trail begins. Following the road until some boulders lead you to a sharp left turn and then down a ladder under the hwy to the other side where you reconnect with the old road again. Once you reach the 3 way intersection the actual trail begins by a concrete wall on the left side of the road. The trail is beautiful, full of lush green vegetation, quite different from the ridgeline trails. Just prior to turning off to the left (at the carved tree) and heading to the falls, you will begin walking on the old stone pathway. I'm always amazed by cultures like the Incas, Myans, Hawaiians, and others that built great roadways from stones like this. The falls themselves are small compared to many of Hawaii's other falls, but this was still a beautiful and...

Nice woodsy falls a reasonably easy hike up through the jungle. Hiking from the road to the golf course parking lot adds about a half mile and is as long or longer than the jungle hiking. The falls are maybe 30 feet high down the rock face. If you go up to the base there is a pool deep enough to dip all the way into, with some lower pools just deep enough for a foot soak.

The trailhead is on the far left side of the golf course parking lot as you come up from the road. The trail is wide to start, then just before you hit the big water tank the trail goes off and up to the left. A little ways in there are two big downed trees, and the trial to the falls takes a hard turn to the right. Straight/left goes away from the falls but there are a bunch of trees across the trail a half-mile or less down the trail.

The falls trail continues down the farthest left fork below the falls. You follow the blue and pink ribbons, and eventually they split. The pink goes down along the streambed. The blue seemed to go up the streambed and involves some serious rope climbing, but then I lost the trail and couldn't see any more...