Need another idea of what to do while on the island of Oahu in Hawaii? Take a day trip to the North Shore and visit Waimea Falls! Not only is this an experience where you will see the natural beauty of magnificent gardens and a lovely waterfall, but it is also a cultural experience as well. Waimea Falls with kids is a great activity to do on the North Shore!
Waimea Valley is about an hour from Aulani Disney Resort where we made our base. We arrived around 8:30am and had the place to ourselves! One of the things that we were really looking forward to was swimming in the falls. When I had visited in 2005 I was able to swim and go under the falls (you are still allowed to do that now, but you MUST wear a life jacket, which they will provide). So we all wore our swimsuits and had our towels with us. But, much to our dismay, there were signs saying that the water levels were too low and that there was no swimming allowed! That was a huge disappointment!
Walking the Path
The path to the falls is full of beautiful flora and historical and cultural information on Native Hawaiin history. It is about a one mile walk on a paved path and in the morning hours is pretty shaded. There is a shuttle that you can pay for if someone is not up to walking that amount. We took it slow since there are many side paths one can venture to in order to learn more about the native plants and area. It’s very well done and we learned a lot!
So we knew that the water in the falls was low… but we didn’t realize that there wouldn’t be any falls at all! It was completely dry! No wonder no one was allowed to swim! We used the opportunity to take some family pictures, rest and recharge, and let the kids play a little bit. We walked back at a faster pace and there were a lot more people headed in the direction we just came from.
Food Trucks
After our time in Waimea Valley we were in search of some delicious North Shore food trucks! My father-in-law, Joe, really wanted to stop by Da Bald Guy food truck in Kahuku. We went there as well as tried many of the other different food trucks along side it. And oh my, the food was superb! Poke bowls, garlic shrimp, pineapple juice, and so much more FRESH grub. We sat at the benches and enjoyed our amazing lunch.
We drove back to the resort and rested a bit before spending some time at the pool. Despite the falls not being full, we had such a great time exploring another part of the island!