If you’re like most American families, one of your New Year’s resolutions is to be more active in the new year. Of course, like most American families it’s taken us two months to get started (disclaimer: I have no hard evidence to prove this but I’m pretty sure we’re an average American family). So on one recent Saturday our family along with several others braved the wet muddy ground in search of an easy waterfall hike. And, when I say easy I mean I am no hiker and a 2 year old completed the hike so there’s that.

Our hike began in the parking lot of the Koolau Golf Course. I’ve been told, but I haven’t verified this, that they tolerate parking as long as you stay by the trailhead and you don’t take up a parking space during functions at the clubhouse or church on Sunday mornings (the clubhouse is also home to First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu at Koolau, or something like that).

Once you get going, the trail is very clearly marked and at a very nice grade. When you reach the large graffiti covered water tank turn left and head uphill. This is one of only two areas where it gets a little steep and it remains steep for maybe 50 yards or so, so really, it’s no big thing. As you’re walking up the hill there’s a nice clearing where you can see the Pali Puka and some nice views of the bay. There are also many interesting plants and trees to look at. After maybe 10 minutes of hiking the trail will split and there’s a tree that shows you what direction to walk. I mean, there’s literally an arrow carved into the tree that points the correct direction.

After another 5 minutes or so you’ll hear the waterfall and when you turn the corner there’s Likeke Falls in all its glory. There’s a nice shallow pool that you can splash around it and if you’re willing to climb another 12 feet there’s another pool at the top near the base of the falls. Being that we had six children with us, the climb was a no brainer. From the falls there are some gorgeous views of Kaneohe Bay and Mokolii Island (aka Chinaman’s Hat).

Overall, the round trip only took us a little over an hour and that’s with us spending a lot of time playing around in the water. If you’re new to hiking or would like to find a nice waterfall this hike should definitely be near the top of your list. Hopefully, I’ll have more hikes to share in the upcoming months!