Wailua River to Secret Falls, HI

Hiked: 1/3/2023
Distance: 6.8 miles round trip on river and trail
Summit Elevation: 214'
Elevation Gain: 100'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.1
Round trip time: 4 hours
Recommended water: 20 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Kayak Wailua
Difficulty: Easy

Our first adventure on Kauai was a guided kayak/hike to the "Secret Falls" on the Wailua River. Secret is a joke because there are a dozen guided tours leading throngs of people to the falls every day. We booked a morning tour through Kayak Wailua. There were twelve of us on the trip and we took off from the Wailua Marina at the same time as another group. The first part of the trip was a 2.1 mile kayak paddle to the trailhead. The river is calm with no white water and no obstacles, except a couple of trees in the water. The only hazard was the large tour boats that run on the south side of the river, while kayakers/paddleboarders are supposed to stay on the north side. After some general instructions, he turned us loose and we reassembled just before the trailhead. We beached our kayaks and followed our guide up the trail.

The hike was 1.3 miles of maintained trail, though there were parts that were muddy and there were three stream crossings. One of the crossings was knee deep. Toward the end were some roots and rocks to navigate, and a short scramble section. The problem with group hikes is you move at the speed of your slowest member. In our case, it was a woman from Canada who had twisted her ankle the day before and was limping along on her wrapped ankle. We all felt bad for her, but she was a drag on our group and we frequently had to wait for other groups to pass while she caught up. Eventually, we got to the falls and it was a decent payoff. It was about 150' high and had a nice pool below. But, there were at least 50 people milling around putting the lie to "secret". After 45 minutes at the falls, we returned the same way. While launching the kayak for the return trip, I stepped into what looked like shallow water only to sink up to my knees in a leaf pile. My legs were coated with mud/leaves the rest of the trip. The scenery along the Wailua River and hike was beautiful, but I can't recommend this trip due to overcrowding. There are better places to go on Kauai.