Akaka Falls State Park is a latter-day Eden of bamboo forests and waterfalls, including the 400-ft/124-m drop of its namesake Akaka Falls. The park is a 5-mi/8-km drive inland from the highway that passes through the small town of Honomu, along the northeastern Hamakua Coast.
One relatively short and pleasant hike takes you past two gorgeous waterfalls. The 0.4-mi/0.6-km uphill hike will take you through a lush rainforest filled with wild orchids, bamboo groves and draping ferns. As you follow the paved footpath, the first waterfall you'll come to is the 100-ft/31-m Kahuna Falls.
Once you've admired Kahuna Falls, continue on around the bend to towering Akaka Falls, which plummets 442 ft/137 m into a stream-eroded gorge. Easily accessible, the entire hike takes less than an hour and is well worth a stop.
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