Waterfall Road (Ka'u Forest Reserve)

Waterfall Road is one of the few public routes into the Ka’u Forest Reserve (some others being the Hao Springs Road and Mountain House Road. Parking at the bottom is a matter of attempting to tuck the car into the elephant grass on the side of Ka’alaiki Rd. The route ascends past a farmhouse and through a couple miles of ranch land before entering the thick Ka’u Forest. Despite the lack of markings, the lower road is a public right-of-way to the forest. Fencing on both sides marks off the private ranchland through which it passes.

If the weather is clear (which it seems to seldom be here), you might catch a glimpse of some waterfalls at the headwalls of the ridges to the north while passing through the ranches. Once in the forest, the trail tunnels under fern and Koa trees, plunging up hill, lined by wild mint and ginger flowers.

Around 4 miles in, the ascent levels off, and the trail drops a short distance to the precipice over Pane’ene’e Pali, with a small ephemeral cascade that you can just see the top of if you strain out over the edge. An extra adventurous jungle explorer might be able to find a way to the larger waterfall a quarter mile to the North, but despite a couple of attempts, I was unable to reach it.

I ran this route several times, and every time, it was somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour. It seems that the forest boundary and ridges in this area produce a very wet local microclimate. The path through the forest is often flowing like a stream, and there were always some wall-to-wall puddles in the thick trees that I had to wade through. This route is a classic case where you can waste time early on trying to skirt puddles and keep your feet dry; but they’ll be soaked by the end anyway so probably not worth the bother. The cooling rain and higher elevation in this route can be a most welcome break from the muggy heat below.

The big downside we found to this route is that the farmhouse at the bottom hosts a number of untethered dogs who came upon us aggressively every time we came by. In the worst instance, around 6 dogs surrounded us in a semicircle, barking angrily, as we gingerly tried to sidestep our way down the road to get out of their territory. This despite the fact that a human came out of the farmhouse to check the commotion, half-heartedly attempting in vain to call the dogs off. That encounter put a fear into us that a next one could result in getting bit or worse.

Aggressive dogs seem to be an unfortunate hazard in many rural routes in Hawaii; this encounter was our worst. If I were going to try this route again, I might try to learn the phone number of the farmhouse at the bottom and ask them to keep their dogs off the road during the time I expected to be passing through. Either that, or get a 4wd-capable vehicle to drive past the farm house before starting to run.

Charlie’s notes: This route is a great way to see some of the dense jungle of Ka’u Forest Reserve, and a welcome cool-down during hotter months. But the dogs were a bit much. I’m a dog person – I love my dog, and normally get along with them just fine. But many of the dogs we encountered in Hawaii weren’t used to running humans as a thing, and seemed to get especially agitated and territorial. I’ve been bit by a dog while running before; the thought of what six of them could do to me as a pack is rather scary.

Laura’s notes: I really want to be able to recommend this route because this was the only trail we went where the rainforest seemed to more native and less invaded – you can get a sense of what Hawaiian rainforest is (was) really like. Mossy rocks, dark forest understory, water everywhere. BUT.THE.DAMN.DOGS. Truly scary. I would not go back to this trail unless I had a protected way past the dogs.