I want to hear from people who have gone swimming in natural pools with waterfalls (not hotel pools!!) what is it like? is the water cold? usually deep? the bottom rocky? and can you really stand underneath the waterfall itself without getting pummeled or are the threat of falling rocks a deterrent?

There are a zillion waterfalls on the various islands and they are not all the same. I've done this several times over many years, but the one that stands out was on Kawaii. We did a horseback ride, then a short hike in, then lunch and swimming in a waterfall pool. The water was not particularly cold (and we were hot from riding and walking) and you could stand under the actual falls. It was deep enough to swim. Can't recall what the bottom was like.

I guess my point is that there ARE places like this, but you need to be more specific about which island you'll be on. Or are you looking for this experience in particular and will go wherever it can be found?

Hi Marilyn,

I wanted to hear about these places on all of the islands, then make a list!
thanks.

On Kauai, I attempted to swim in the natural pool in order to reach the waterfall on the opposite side from which I was standing but became frozen from the waist down. My husband made it across so I was able to take pics of him standing in the falls. Friends we were with said I would one day regret not swimming across--to this day I do not as I vividly remember how icy cold that water was. Getting into the water was a bit tricky because of the rocks--had the water been warmer I could have just floated over them. Great experience.

I should add, the waterfall is located somewhere along the Wailua River on Kauai. We used the map provided by the kayak rental (not sure if was Smith's or another outfitter).

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/kauai/html/...lua_river.html

We did one on Oahu and just like the one on Kauai, you had to hike a bit of a way to get to it. And once you get there, it's amazing! It's not deep enough to swim in it though. It was maybe only 4 or 5 feet deep and the bottom was very rocky.

BigJim...at what location on Oahu? Thanks.

The place we hiked to is called Manoa Falls. It's just north of Honolulu.

Manoa Falls is closed to swimming now. About a year or so ago, there were a bunch of rocks came over the falls, so they built up an area near the falls for viewing only.

It is still a great hike through a rain forest including bamboo. It's about a 20 minute hike one way.

There is another nice waterfall that you can swim at the bottom. It's Maunawili Falls. This is about a 1 1/2 mile hike one way.

Here are some good hiking websites for Oahu. Some of them give directions to this waterfall and a couple of others.

http://www.hawaiitrails.org/ This one is good for all the islands.

http://www.backyardoahu.com/

http://home.hawaii.rr.com/oahuhikingtrails/home.html

http://oahuhiking.com/

Is there a good guide for hiking and waterfall swimming? We may go with our children (12 and 13 then)and would rather travel with a guide when hiking or swimming in waterfalls,etc... Do they have this type of service? Not a tourist trap type thing, just where you can hire someone to take you places and tell you where it is safe to hike and swim,etc.. Thanks.

Hi stellaluna

I think there is always a risk of falling rocks under any waterfall...

But my favorite swimming spot was the Blue Pool on Maui. The waterfall coming down was not extremely high nor flowing extremely rapidly at the time I visited it. So people were going under it with no problem. The pool bottom itself was rocky and VERY slippery. The water depth varied - shallow enough to stand in some spots yet deep enough for swimming in most spots. You should definitely have some type of water shoes with tread on them if you plan on just walking in to test the water. I recall the water temperature being cool when I first got in but comfortable after that. This pool was along Hana Road which also has other waterfalls with pools where I have seen many people swimming.

I also remember doing a rather strenuous hike to the bottom of Opaeka (spelling?) Falls in Kauai. This was a much bigger falls and the water felt good here too but there was also a LOT of mosquitos here as it was surrounded with vegetation.

Good luck with your list. I can totally relate to a desire to find waterfalls in Hawaii!

Thank you!

Once again...BigJim...when were you at the Manoa Falls? I checked one of the websites listed by dusty and it says the falls were temporarily closed in 2002 but now reopened. The site was last updated in August 2004. If anyone has very recent information about the Manoa Falls, I'd love some more feedback.

I live on Oahu and go to Manoa Falls often.

The updated info is the same as my last post. It is not permitted to go into the pool under the falls. Viewing area only.

Thank you for your quick and updated FIRSTHAND information. I'll seek out other falls for swimming.

Thanks Dusty! I haven't been back to Oahu since 2002 and wasn't aware that Manoa Falls was closed. You're right....the hike through that rainforest was still amazing!

Trav -
Just because I said the pool area is off limits doesn't mean that people don't break the rules.

There are signs that say to keep out but.........

Even if you can't or don't go into the water, this is a very good hike through a rainforest and well worth the time.

We took the ATV tour on Kauai last trip in Januaury and I get "shrinkage" just thinking about swimming in the pool at the base of the small waterfall. :-"

After a rain you also have to avoid falling pieces of wood/shrubs as well as dead animals that wash down for the high country.

if you have a cut or open sore, don't go in the water in a waterfall and don't drink the water. you can get leptosporosis from pigs, rats peeing in the river farther up the river.