Kauai's easiest great falls: a roadside overlook above the Wailua River valley, with the falls splitting and rejoining across its basalt lip as the rain dictates.
November through April
Big water window
in a typical year
Rain fed
What drives it
Opaekaa Stream
Live USGS
Data on this page
gauge 16071500
Hawaii State Parks
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Opaekaa Falls, and when
Opaekaa Stream gathers east Kauai rain, so the falls swings between a single heavy curtain after wet spells and a pair of slender ribbons in dry ones; the November through April rain season is the reliable full version. Our rain-fed label describes that regime. The gauge on a branch of the stream upstream gives a rough live read.
Typical best flow: November through April
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What the agency itself says
Lush river valley with riverboat cruise (fee charged) to Fern Grotto, an unusual fern-covered cave set in a tropical garden; scenic vistas of attractive waterfalls 'Opaeka'a Falls and Wailua Falls) and the Wailua River Valley.
Gauge: USGS 16071500 Left Branch Opaekaa Str nr Kapaa Kauai HI, upstream of the falls on a branch of the same stream. The gauge reads the river, not the brink of the falls, so treat it as the trend line rather than a turnstile.
Source: USGS Water Services (National Water Information System). Instantaneous values and daily statistics services. U.S. Geological Survey data are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain. Gauge verified 2026-08-27.
Rain-fed falls carry the color of their watershed: Blackwater Falls runs amber with tannin from spruce and hemlock bogs upstream, and its volume tracks the last month of Appalachian weather. “Blackwater Falls (15437499241)” by Benjamin Smith from United States, CC BY 2.0
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
The falls is viewed from a signed overlook on Kuamoo Road within Wailua River State Park, open daily 7 am to 7:45 pm. As of February 2026 the park charges non-residents entrance and parking fees, card only; Hawaii residents are free with ID.
The reliable big-water window is November through April. Opaekaa Stream gathers east Kauai rain, so the falls swings between a single heavy curtain after wet spells and a pair of slender ribbons in dry ones; the November through April rain season is the reliable full version. Our rain-fed label describes that regime. The gauge on a branch of the stream upstream gives a rough live read.
This page reads the USGS gauge on Opaekaa Stream (Left Branch Opaekaa Str nr Kapaa Kauai HI, upstream of the falls on a branch of the same stream) live in your browser, and shows the latest flow next to the median USGS publishes for today's date, so you can see where today sits in the year. The gauge reads the river, not the brink, so treat it as the trend rather than a turnstile.
It thins to ribbons in dry stretches but holds year round. The overlook takes two minutes, which makes this the easiest falls on this site to check on the way past.
Wailua River State Park (Hawaii DLNR Division of State Parks). The falls is viewed from a signed overlook on Kuamoo Road within Wailua River State Park, open daily 7 am to 7:45 pm. As of February 2026 the park charges non-residents entrance and parking fees, card only; Hawaii residents are free with ID. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
The double falls at the end of Maalo Road made famous by television, pouring off the South Fork Wailua and swelling into a single curtain after Kauai rain.
Places to stay