Two Easy To Access Waterfalls Along The Road To Hana!

Road To Hana is full of surprises around each twist and turn. Some are tucked away beyond adventures grasp. But some are right under our noses, and you wouldn’t believe how literal that is.

Twin Falls

About 15 - 20 minutes past Paia Town and around Mile Marker 2, there’s a rather large gravel parking area that holds 55 cars according to the Twin Falls Website. The parking is $10.00 per car.

The hike starts by walking through a beautiful farm, down some gravel paths. After a few minutes of walking into the farm, you’ll see some “fancy” outhouses. If you take a left at the outhouses, a trail will lead you down a hill that leads to a pool with a smaller waterfall.

The view from above looked somewhat promising.

But ultimately, the first pool was a little disappointing.

When my family and I visited this spot, it was a random choice to stop. We had no idea what was here at Twin Falls so when we saw the “smaller waterfall”, we thought that was it. It was a little underwhelming. So when we walked back up the hill to the outhouses, we decided to take a left to continue walking up the gravel road instead of taking a right to walk back towards the entrance.

After walking for a few minutes, we got to a gate. The gate at first glance made the adventure look like that was the end of our walk since typically that’s why gates are put up and plus everyone else we saw approaching the gate were turning around as well. But after reading the sign on gate, it said that we could continue but at our own risk and etc. so we decided to continue.
Keep in mind that at this point, we still had no idea what was behind this gate and how far we had to go to see whatever was back there.

We walked for a good 20 minutes or so before getting to a straight away where we could see an epic waterfall in the distance. It was a waterfall that at this point, we had all to ourselves. And it stayed this way for the full hour that we were there.

It was epic. Especially since we had NO idea what was behind that gate. We kept thinking about the beautiful scene that so many people were missing when turning around at the gate. But selfishly, we were happy to have the falls to ourselves while we were there.
You can walk back behind the waterfall and on top of the falls. But please never get too close to any waterfall edge. The view looking down is never worth the risk of potentially slipping. Way too many people in Hawaii make this mistake.

This spot though is amazing. Bring some snacks or a nice lunch and kick back and enjoy the scenery. Especially if you have the spot to yourself. Enjoy it.

Upper Waikani Falls aka Three Bears

Upper Waikani Falls! View of the Falls from the road.

This waterfall is even easier to get to since it’s literally right along the Road To Hana. But many people miss it and are not able to stop there because they don’t plan for it.
Planning for Upper Waikani Falls is crucial because the parking is extremely limited. There’s a few areas along the shoulder where you can get off the road completely but some of the pull off areas are a decent walk away from the falls. Regardless, please do not try to park unless you can get your car off the highway completely. In doing so, do not impede the flow of traffic. Doing our best not to block those that have routes/deliveries and that live out there should also be kept in mind.

Once you park, you want to go down to the falls on the side of the bridge closest to Hana. It can be a little steep and slick for some people so take your time getting down there.
Three Bears is a great place to relax, have lunch, and to take a swim.

The biggest downside to this location is the parking. Or lack there of. So be sure to plan ahead!

To wrap it up, are these the two most easy to access sites along the Road To Hana? Maybe in ways but probably not in others. But they were definitely two that I found to be memorable. And one of the reasons why was because of the ease of access.

Be sure to check out my other blogs for tips, tricks, and more about photography and travel around the Hawaiian Islands!