Even though there were two waterfalls, it was only one of them that was officially named Hoopii Falls. Apparently, local and government maps disagree over which waterfall got the official name, but I think ultimately it was supposed to be the latter, taller waterfall. Speaking of which, the Upper Ho'opi'i Falls was said to be 10-15ft tall. We saw a couple of kids here enjoying themselves in the shadowy pool downstream of the falls itself. The Lower Ho'opi'i Falls was said to be about 30ft tall in a darker more primitive part of the Kapa'a Stream.

Upper Ho'opi'i Falls (pictured at the top of this page), which the locals called Ho'opi'i Falls, was 10-15ft tall with a deep plunge pool for swimming. The 30ft tall Lower Ho'opi'i Falls, which the state government called Hoopii Falls, was viewable from a narrow ledge above Kapa'a Stream.

The way we walked to both falls was as follows (note: conditions may change and this might not be the way you experience it).

We walked to the end of the old dirt road (once we found it). Then we followed the trail down a muddy, slippery slope to the south bank of Kapa'a Stream. The trail narrowed and continued downstream along the banks of Kapa'a Stream for about half a mile to a spur. Then, we turned left at the spur, where we were close enough to hear a waterfall. A few more minutes of downhill scrambling led us to the top of Upper Ho'opi'i Falls.

We then continued back on the main trail, which quickly reached another steep and slippery downhill section and reunited with Kapa'a Stream. At the stream was a junction with a choice between upstream and downstream paths. The upstream path went for a few minutes to a rocky area where Kapa'a Stream met the Upper Ho'opi'i Falls plunge pool. But the downstream path eventually led us deeper into a dark and shaded forest. Here, the trail deteriorated into a maze of confusing false trails, low-hanging branches, and large fallen trees.

We basically stuck close to Kapa'a Stream to avoid getting lost. And finally within 15-30 minutes, the trail climbed alongside a large fallen tree to arrive at a narrow ledge where we were able to capture the view of Lower Ho'opi'i Falls.