What Are the Best Waterfalls on the Big Island?

The windward (east) side of the Big Island is where the trade-wind rain hits first, feeding dozens of waterfalls along the Hāmākua coast and around Hilo. A day of waterfall-hunting is one of our guests’ favorite low-effort wins.

Here are the waterfalls worth planning around — ranked from easiest to most ambitious.

Rainbow Falls (Hilo)

An 80-foot waterfall in downtown Hilo, visible from a paved overlook about a minute from the parking lot. Best in the morning when the sun angles into the mist and throws the namesake rainbow. Free, easy, and a great first stop on a Hilo day.

‘Akaka Falls State Park

‘Akaka drops 442 feet — one of the tallest waterfalls in the state — surrounded by a lush bamboo-and-ginger forest. A paved 0.4-mile loop takes you past ‘Akaka and the shorter Kahūnā Falls. Fifteen minutes north of Hilo, small parking fee, open daily.

Umauma Falls

A dramatic three-tier waterfall on private land 20 minutes north of Hilo at the Umauma Experience. Entry fee gets you access to the viewing platform, a short walk through a botanical garden, and the option to zip-line over the falls. One of the prettiest waterfall views on the island with no hiking required.

Waipi‘o Valley lookout (and Hi‘ilawe Falls)

The Waipi‘o Valley lookout gives you one of the most iconic views in Hawai‘i — a 2,000-foot-deep cliff-rimmed valley with a black sand beach at its mouth. From the lookout on a clear day you can see Hi‘ilawe Falls, a 1,450-foot waterfall, in the back of the valley. The road down into the valley is closed to non-residents (and has been since 2022), so the lookout is the stop.

Pe‘epe‘e Falls / Boiling Pots

Just upstream of Rainbow Falls. A short walk to a viewing platform looking down at a series of lava-rock pools that churn with water after rain. Beautiful and very local-feeling. Do not swim — people have drowned here in flash floods.

Onomea Bay (Hawai‘i Tropical Bioreserve)

Not a single waterfall but a rainforest garden on the coast 15 minutes north of Hilo, threaded with multiple small falls, streams and a bamboo forest. Stroller-friendly paved paths. Admission fee, worth it.

Safety notes

Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls — the two headliners on this list — are both stops on our full-day Circle Island Tour, and waterfall-heavy itineraries are one of the most-requested versions of our private Big Island tour.

Never swim above or below a waterfall unless it is an established, signed swimming spot. Flash floods are genuinely dangerous on the east side — water can rise several feet in minutes after rain upstream, even if it’s sunny where you are. Also: leptospirosis is present in many freshwater streams; avoid stagnant pools and don’t submerge your head if you do swim.

Explore the Big Island with Ohana Tours

Our Hilo waterfalls + rainforest day tour loops all of the above (with the Umauma Experience included) and has you back in Kona by early evening. It’s a good choice for a day when the west-side weather is perfect and you can’t bring yourself to do the drive yourself.

Ready to plan your trip? Browse our Big Island experiences at ohanatours.com or reach out at aloha@ohanatours.com — we’ll build the itinerary around you.

Mahalo for reading — the Ohana Tours team