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Opaekaa Falls

Wailua River State Park, Hawaii, USA

About Opaekaa Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Opaekaa Falls (or Opaeka’a Falls) is a segmented waterfall said to tumble at a height of 151ft, which was one of the easier waterfalls to experience thanks to an official well-signed roadside overlook.

I believe “Opaeka’a” means “rolling shrimp” probably because there used to be the rare native shrimp in the freshwater streams here.

Opaekaa_Falls_003_12232006 - Opaeka'a Falls
Opaeka’a Falls

These shrimp were known to be able to climb cliffs containing waterfalls such as this one.

While the convenient lookout would make for a really short visit here, I noticed on our second visit (in November 2021) there was a crosswalk leading to a nice overlook of the Wailua River.

As for the waterfall lookout, it did leave a lot to be desired because there’s a tree growing into the line-of-sight, which conspired to make Opaekaa Falls look shorter than it really is.

Anyways, in addition to being well-signed and having a fairly sizable parking area, this was a pretty popular waterfall primarily because it was not far from the town of Kapaa (or Kapa’a).

The Temptation to improve the Opaeka’a Falls View

Opaekaa_Falls_022_11202021 - Looking down at kayaks on the Wailua River as seen from the overlook across the street from the Opaeka'a Falls Lookout
Looking down at kayaks on the Wailua River as seen from the overlook across the street from the Opaeka’a Falls Lookout

Now even though the overlook was very popular and busy, its view still left a lot to be desired.

Indeed, it posed a dilemma as to whether we should seek out a way to get closer to the waterfall or be content with this view that bordered on disappointing.

Well, it turned out that there were paths to the base of the waterfall as explained in the Adventures section of the Blue Bible.

Unfortunately, literally a couple days before we arrived in Kaua’i, a pair of ladies who made the attempt to get to the bottom of Opaeka’a Falls had fallen to their deaths.

Opaekaa_Falls_011_11202021 - Context of the walkway leading to the Wailua Falls Overlook in context with Opaeka'a Falls off the near side of the road
Context of the walkway leading to the Wailua Falls Overlook in context with Opaeka’a Falls off the near side of the road

As you can tell from the dearth of photos on this page, we decided against chancing it, and since that time, more fencing and more signage had been put up prohibiting trying to scramble to the base of the falls.

Authorities

Opaekaa Falls resides in Wailua River State Park in the island of Kauai, Hawaii. For information or inquiries about the general area as well as current conditions, you may want to try visiting the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: opaekaa, rolling shrimp, wailua river, kauai, kapaa, hawaii, waterfall, tragedy, overlook



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.