A collection of travel and adventure stories

Wailua River Kayaking

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Wailua River is a long, winding river located on the eastern part of the island of Kauai. Several forks in the river lead to waterfalls. A boat ramp is available, along with various kayak rental companies located throughout the Wailua area. The paddling length for this story about 4 miles roundtrip (to/from Secret Falls landing area).

Activities:
kayaking, hiking, swimming, sightseeing

Directions:
Wailua River is accessible from Kuhio Highway and Highway 580, which parallels the river.

Story Date 6/2/2000
Publish Date 4/6/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: The Wailua River is a very nice, calm water paddle on the island of Kauai. The river meanders through the lush Wailua Valley, splitting into many forks.

The Wailua River kayak was the first kayak trip that I had ever been on. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the guys, who had better arm strength. I wasn't sure if I could handle it physically. In the end, I was worried about nothing. I enjoyed kayaking very much, and this started Phil and I on our own many kayak adventures (eventually leading to us purchasing our own kayaks at home).

The day was very enjoyable. The water was refreshingly cool on the skin after the hot sun. For the first part of the river, a lot of the large tour boats move up and down the river on your left. But after you reach one of the forks, there are just other kayakers along the river. The views are outstanding.

We kayaked up about 2.5 miles to the trail to Secret Falls. All of us landed and waded across the river to the trail, which winds through the lush tropical forest. It is a pretty easy trail. The end of the trail is a little steep to the pool below the falls. We jumped into the water for a swim underneath the waterfall. There are a few large rocks that you can stand on by the rock wall. The water was freezing compared to the warm water of the ocean.

After a nice swim and hike back, we continued up a few other forks in the river. We kayaked until they narrowed too much to go any further. We didn't see many other people further up. We returned back to the boat ramp and went back to the condos to shower. We then returned back to Wailua for the Smith Luau - highly recommended!

This kayak trip was in 2000. We have since heard that they have put limits on kayaking the Wailua River. There are a lot less kayak companies that can rent kayaks for the Wailua, and they limit the number of kayaks you can rent. Too bad...this is a very enjoyable kayak experience.