Hiking Trail at Lulumahu Falls
Today we are jumping into one of our very first hikes from our Oahu trip, Lulumahu Falls. Since it was our very first hike of the trip we wanted to choose something that wasn’t too far from our hotel and not too long of a trek in general. After some research online, Lulumahu Falls seemed like the perfect hike for us so we planned the next morning to see for ourselves 🙂
Getting There
Since we didn’t want to start our hike in the middle of the day, because that’s when crowds are most prevalent, 😉 we decided a nice morning hike would be our best bet. Driving to the location of the hike can be a little tricky because it’s just a quick right turn off the freeway before Pali lookout (if your coming from Honolulu.) Once you arrive to the hiking spot you will notice there aren’t many parking spots that are made in the ground it’s kinda just like first come first serve, so getting there in the morning rather than afternoon is a little better with parking. Once out of the car you will find a fence that opens up to the beginning of the hike.
What to Expect
From here you can expect a beautiful 1 mile hike to the falls. What’s really nice about this hike is that you are pretty much engulfed in a forest the entire time. Since your starting in the middle of a mountain your not gonna be scaling the walls or mountain ridges on this hike. For the first 10 minutes into the trial you will enter a bamboo forest that is really really unique and beautiful right from the beginning. Once you’ve followed the trail out of the bamboo forest you will find yourself in almost an empty-like field that either takes you right or left, make sure you start going left because this will lead you to the rest of the hike. Following pink markers or signs will ensure you that you are going the right way. One thing to keep in mind before starting this hike is to be aware if it had been raining the days before, because if it did you should expect a muddy hike the entire time so make sure your shoes and clothes are ready for that. The trek itself isn’t that bad at all, minor hills but mostly flat the entire time. At times you might feel like your not sure if your going the right way so being aware of where water is running from to help guide you to the falls. The hike getting to the falls took us about an hour because we really like to take our time and take pictures along the way. Once you arrive to the falls you will see a beautiful 50 foot waterfall cascading down into a smallish size pond area, some hikers bring swim suits and towels for a quick dunk but it’s not “known” for it’s swimming area. (just a heads up) There are plenty of areas you can maneuver around jumping from rock to rock to find a nice spot to sit at and enjoy the waterfall. A tip for hikers is to make sure you have some extra bug spray on hand because mosquitos love waterfalls and just siting there you will get some friendly bites 😉 The hike back is another easy mile back making it a perfect 2 mile hiking trip all together. Small children will have no problem hiking with you and will enjoy seeing the beautiful waterfall with you.
Our Experience
Our take away from this hike would be just how perfect it was for our “first” hike. We would totally recommend getting yourself prepped for the hikes ahead by doing this one first. One of the things we enjoyed most about this hike was the bamboo forest. Walking amongst the bamboo, feeling the texture of it and sounds they make through the wind blowing past, was like nothing we have ever experienced. It’s not that often you get the opportunity to hike where bamboo is organically growing, so this really stuck out to us. Being that we like to bring all our camera equipment this hike was perfect because it wasn’t that vigorous for us. We were also lucky being there early because we really did beat the crowds, later on our vacation we decided to go back to shoot some more photos in the forest and discovered just how hectic it can get there. Arriving in the afternoon finding a spot was a lot harder and way more people were joining one another for this special hike. Overall we would say this hike is totally doable and a very beautiful journey you can enjoy alone or with others 🙂
