This was great have seen way better falls in my lifetime. It was wet and slippery. Three total stairs. Not for disabled. It was great. Colorful. We had crummy weather all week.
Dunderlin
This is definitely worth a visit if you are passing or have a spare couple of hours in while staying in Hilo. It took us about 45 minutes to wander around the very pleasant loop at a leisurely pace and including some time to view the waterfall. There are several excellent view points along the way.
PeowCat
I admit that I like waterfalls. This was the best I've seen. Over 400 feet. Terrific viewing spot. Great camera ops. And, a short distance away is a second falls with a 300 foot drop. Both were flowing strongly as well as smaller side falls. No doubt the result of unseasonably strong and long rains for March. If you park outside the small lot you still pay $1/person to enter the park. As other indicate turn left for the shortest and easiest walk to the falls. We then walked up the stairs to get back. Yeah, it's a lot of steps but the scenery is amazing and you can stop and rest. A maintenance worker was chopping back native vegetation (like your house plants) near the walkway. Made me laugh, I struggle to keep these plants alive in my house and he has to machete them monthly.
D0000D
There is a bit of vertical elevation change, but it isn't too strenuous. Quite a few steps, but fairly easy if you walk clockwise around the loop. The plants along the way make the 0.4 mile loop interesting and the view of the falls is spectacular. Worth a visit if you have time.
ALLENT7V
a big walk down to see fall but a nice view , there is a nice view at the top to see the falls if you cannot traverse the stairs and long walk
caweber4
On our drive out of Hilo heading to Kona we decided to stop at Akaka State Park to check out the falls. After a small parking fee of $5 we were happy to see a paved trail with railings heading right down to 2 beautiful waterfalls. We took some spectacular pictures. The scenery was out of a Jurassic Park movie with all the different plants. It was a nice easy hike that anybody that can go up and down stairs could handle. Also there are railings the whole trail. In all we took about an hour to hike the whole thing and thats with several long stops for photo ops. So I definitely recommend this hike. Its a nice little stop with some great views.
TokyoGeoff
Keen to save a dollar? If you can, park just outside the carpark otherwise you pay $5 per car. Solo travelers like me can park outside,about 10metres away, and only pay $1. The falls are superb and should be on your list. Over summer they apparently nearly dry up but in autumn the full 400 foot drop was stunning to watch.
molelady
This was the land of giant plants. Fern trees with fronds 12 feet or more. Philodendron leaves large enough to hide behind and flowers everywhere. The rainforest hike is less than 0.5 miles and is dominated by a 420 foot waterfall. It is twice as high as Niagra Falls and since it had been raining was running very large. It was a beautiful sight