Likeke Falls Trail: Everything You Need to Know

What better way for my little girl gang to spend Super Bowl Sunday than going for a little hike after church?

We don’t watch much football, but when we do, it’s college (go Gators!). So, Super Bowl Sunday means absolutely nothing to us.

Our afternoon was much better spent on a short hike through the lush rainforest of the Ko’olau Mountains to see a waterfall. The weather was nice, and we pretty much had the place all to ourselves. Definitely better than afternoon on the couch watching football!

Here’s everything you need to know before you go:

Where to Park

One of the most stressful parts of going out in Hawaii is parking!

The majority of the research I do before hikes, beach trips, and outings is to figure out the parking situation. Thankfully, this one was easy!

We paid $10 to park at the Ko’olau Golf Club. (It’s $15 without the military discount.) The trail begins at the back corner of the parking lot.

Is $10 expensive for an hour of parking? Yes, but it made things much less stressful than trying to park alongside the road in a way that wouldn’t get me a parking ticket or towed.

However, if you just don’t want to pay for parking, you CAN park alongside the road.

What to Expect

The trail from the golf club parking lot starts paved. At the end of the paved section, you’ll see an old water tank covered in graffiti. The trail continues to the left BEFORE the tank.

We wanted to see the graffiti, so we walked around the tank just for funsies and then went back to the trail.

After taking that left, the trail is nothing but mud and tree roots, except for a small section of a stone pathway.

You’ll come to 2 downed trees where the trail forks. Go to the right!

An arrow is painted on the tree standing behind the downed trees, showing the way to the waterfall. Follow the arrow!

You’ll continue through the mud and the tree roots until you reach Likeke Falls!

Likeke Falls

While Likeke Falls isn’t the tallest or most impressive waterfall on the island, it is still lovely. We especially loved the ‘mermaid rock’ in the shallow pool beneath the lower portion of the falls.

(If you’re looking for a longer hike with a taller waterfall, check out Lulumahu Falls.)

There was a father and son at the waterfall when we arrived, and they climbed up to the upper portion of the falls. However, the rocks are very slippery. So, the girls and I just enjoyed the waterfall from the bottom.

According to the internet, the only thing up there is a rocky stream and a shallow pool similar to the one at the bottom. It’s not worth the risk of falling to me.

Since we had the waterfall to ourselves, we stayed for a long time taking pictures and wading in the stream.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, and I’m so glad we came on this little adventure!

I highly recommend getting out on the trails during the Super Bowl; you might just have the whole thing to yourself!