Kayaking and Hiking to Secret Falls (Uluwehi Falls), Kauai - Hawaii

Secret Falls is an amazing waterfall that is a must-visit on your next trip to Kauai. Secret Falls is also called Uluwehi Falls.

To get there, you need to rent a kayak to paddle up the Wailua River to the hiking trail that leads to the falls.

You can book a guided tour or an unguided tour. 

We like to avoid the crowds, so we booked an unguided tour and booked the 7:15 am to 12:15pm rental time.

We booked our unguided tour through Wailua Kayak and Canoe at WailuaRiverKayaking.com. We rented a double seated kayak through them for 5 hours for $110.71 including tax.

It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to kayak the 2 miles up the river to the trailhead and then about 20 to 30 minutes to hike the 1 mile trail to Secret Falls. Total round trip is about 6.1 miles total.

We wore our water shoes for both the kayak portion and the hiking portion. You could wear hiking shoes, but they are going to get wet.

Wailua Kayak and Canoe is located at 162 Wailua Rd, Kapa'a, HI 96746. When you pull in, there is free parking across the street from the building.

As you turn onto Wailua Road, you'll see the Wailua Visitors Center. Go past that and turn into the parking lot on the left. You'll see a Kayak parking sign.

After parking, you'll walk across the street to check in.

You'll see a map of the river to the trail and to the waterfall.

You'll get your kayak and start pulling it on a little dolly. You turn right and head down the street until you see the sign telling you to turn right toward the launch ramp.

As you go down this path, you'll see a public bathroom. This is the last time you'll have a bathroom till your done.

There's a small bridge you'll need to line up your kayak to cross it successfully.

After you cross the small bridge, you'll come to the boat launch area. Go ahead and put your kayak in, remove the dolly and return it, and then you're ready to start paddling down the river.

As you paddle down the river, you'll pass a dock area and then make a right. Then you'll see where to park your kayak on the shore.

Then you'll follow the trail along the river until you get to the river crossing area.

After crossing the river, you'll follow the trail for about a mile. You'll see a boardwalk about 1/8 mile down the trail. The boardwalk has to planks to keep you out of the mud.

You'll eventually come to a sign that tells you to take a left and go up a steep hill. Then you'll cross a small stream that has a rope to help you with balance if the current is strong.

Then you'll reach Secret Falls. This view is amazing!

This is the view looking from the waterfall to the trail.

Then we headed back. When we got back to our Kayak, there were a lot more people who had arrived. I'm glad we went early so it was less crowded.

We got into our kayak and headed back. We saw one boat the whole time.

As we got back to the launch area, we went and got our dolly and put it back on our kayak and took it back.

Overall, this was such a fun trip and we highly recommend it on your next trip to Kauai.

Map of route to kayak and hike to Secret Falls (Uluwehi Falls), Kauai - Hawaii:

Wailua Kayak and Canoe is located at 162 Wailua Rd, Kapa'a, HI 96746.

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

Kayak Rental: 1 double seat Kayak for 5 hours: $110.71

Free Public Parking: $0

Total cost: $110.71

We booked our unguided tour through Wailua Kayak and Canoe at WailuaRiverKayaking.com. We rented a double seated kayak through them for 5 hours for $110.71 including tax. It also included the use of a drybag and a small cooler.

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a plenty of water and some snacks
• Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face.
• Bring sunscreen
• Bring mosquito spray.
• Wear water shoes or hiking shoes that you don't mind getting wet.
• This video was filmed with a Go Pro Hero 9 Black video camera

Want to share your own travel experiences?

Build your own travel lifestyle Website using the same all-in-one platform that I use.

Host your Website, Build Your Courses, and Accept Payments with Kajabi!