Hawaii's Biggest River (Wailuku) Has Some of The Best Waterfalls Too

We live about half the year in Hawaii, and we are delighted that our mainland friends love to pay us a visit. Over the years, we’ve developed a day long sightseeing trip for our first-time visitors that shares what we view as the most accessible scenic highlights of the Big Island. The Wailuku River is featured prominently on that tour. Most visitors to the Hilo area find their way to Rainbow Falls for good reason:

This is my personal favorite of the many photos I've taken of these falls and it shows the namesake rainbow. Most people who see this scene are unaware that it is on the Wailuku River. I certainly didn't know that for a long time. Most waterfalls in Hawaii seem to come out of nowhere, as the river the falls are on comes from, and then disappears again into, a rainforest.

So why would anyone care? Well there's more to see on the Wailuku and it is remarkable that most of the significant falls near Hilo all are found on this one river, and they all are easy to find. Unless a visitor has a knowledgeable guide they probably don’t visit Boiling Pots, a few miles upstream on the same river and just off the same road (Waianuenue Avenue):

And it’s even less likely that they visit Wai’ale Falls, a two-tiered waterfall flowing around a small island, that is still further upstream and visible from the same road where it crosses the Wailuku River:

And finally, they may be nearby, but unaware of the cascade right in downtown Hilo that is visible from the Pu’ueo Bridge. Yet again, it is just a few blocks from Waianuenue Avenue. This cascade has no formal name, but locally goes by Pu’ueo Falls or Wainuku Avenue Falls:

This is all on Hawaii’s largest river, and all four of these falls are within a few miles of each other off the same road. How easy is that!

Wai’ale Falls are furthest up Waianuenue Avenue and are not part of a State Park facility. While no one prohibits hiking to the falls, they are difficult to reach. For years there has been a trail along the right side of the river, usually somewhat overgrown) that allows hikers to get a closeup view of the upper waterfall:

And walk right out on the brink of the lower "falls" (really a spillway):

We have periodically seen swimmers in the pool above the upper falls or near the island below and assume they got there via this trail, but we haven’t pursued it ourselves. We have tried to find other routes to the upper river and failed. There is a sidestream that comes off the river and has a pretty cascade that flows under the Waianuenue Avenue and ultimately rejoins the Wailuku further down:

All this is likely to change somewhat as Hurricane Lala sent a virtual tidal wave down these falls, clearing vegetation and overwhelming the banks of the river here as well as the sidestream. Crews are now working to repair the area and its unclear whether the trail upstream will survive. A comparison of the current view here:

With a recent pre-storm view shows how the banks below the lower falls have been stripped bare and are covered in mud.

The Boiling Pots are only 1.5 miles down the road and are located in a section of Wailuku State Park dedicated to the Pots area. There is no hiking or swimming allowed here, so the main attraction is the view. It’s an incredible view of the multiple Pe’epe’e Falls on the upstream side who feed a cascade through the center of the view and transition into the Boiling Pots on the downstream side.

This viewpoint has not been well-maintained in recent years, but a recent visit showed it to be all cleaned up and views restored to fully reveal the incredible scene (as shown here). Right now, it is one of the most amazing easilyl-accessible scenes found anywhere in Hawaii. I hope it stays this way! You can read more about the “new” Boiling Pots view here.

I doubt that I need to spend a lot of time describing Rainbow Falls, since it is near the top of most visitors must-see list. Here's another view of the falls from the viewpoint at the top, with a rainbow:

 The rainbow is only visible in morning sunlight, and the time of best viewing depends on time of year. We usually find it around 10AM. Of course, that assumes the sun is shining, which in Hilo is often not the case.

Like Boiling Pots, the vegetation at Rainbow Falls has recently been trimmed and sightlines are fully restored from almost every available spot. The stairs up to the brink of the falls were closed for years during/after Covid, but they are open again and the view of additional falls upstream and a cascade leading to the brink of Rainbow Falls are hugely improved:

There are massive banyan trees at the top of the falls with crazy surface roots crisscrossing the ground that are worth a look by themselves:

Many thanks to the team that did (and continues to do) this view restoration work! A visit here is now much more than just five minutes to snap a shot of the falls.

To see the last feature on this river takes a little more work, since it isn't well documented. So, it is not surprising that few visit there (search Pu’ueo Bridge). Here are a couple more views from the bridge.

But it is pretty, and on the edge of downtown Hilo, so if you are there already, you might want to add it to your itinerary. I recommend starting there and working your way up Waianuenue Avenue to see just how amazing the Wailuku River is!