Waihou Spring Trail

Super flat trail, then steep switchbacks. Beautiful forest near the springs, very little water flow (in April). Saw about 8 people in all.

Tall forest so if you want direct light, come midday.

Great hike. Springs were not running fast, but small waterfalls visible. hour hike if you go down to springs and hit entire loop.

Wonderful easy hike around the loop in an old growth forest. Low traffic in morning. Have to cross one creek on trail but small and easily done without getting wet. Switch back descent to springs is well maintained and couple hundred foot descent is easily done if you take your time. Springs were flowing well during my stop.

The loop is a beautiful hike through the forest and the lookout to the waterfalls is a bit challenging especially when muddy. Either way it is worth the hike as you get to see amazing waterfalls and holes through the rock which I heard you can go into. Highly recommend this hike for all ages.

My first hike ever in Hi & it didn’t disappoint! I loved the green moss and the trees and the lava tubes. There is a pretty steep climb down (& back up) so I wouldn’t recommend this for little kids. The trail is only about 2 ft wide & drops off. You follow a series of switchbacks to the bottom where there are several tubes and water trickling down the sides of the rock. We even had a rooster friend at the bottom... this is a fun, quick hike that burns those thighs!

The loop is super easy and looks to be popular with people living near by. The spur down to the spring is the part that makes it closer to moderate. A little steep overall but nothing difficult. The spring was a little disappointing but that could be due to the time of year. Was asked if the spring had any water on my return trip, so it does not flow all the time. It was a trickle for me. The loop itself is nice, a nice easy walk in a good forest.

Super easy and short walk. The falls were closed when I went, but the loop is a nice way to get your heart rate up and blood pumping.

The initial loop is peaceful and easy. The trail to the springs is an unexpected beauty. If the weather is at all wet I can’t imagine trying to navigate the steep cut albeit gorgeous switchbacks.

Loop is quick and easy. Side trail down to the springs and small caves is worth the hike.

This hike started out bad with an unsafe road to get to the trailhead. I'm talking about potholes and mountain pavement bumps that if I was actually driving faster than 15 mph, would have taken off a tire. then the trail itself... I went for the allure of the "spring and waterfall." Only to find instead, (after killing myself getting down a steep,slippery trail) that there is no spring and no waterfall. Only a bunch of creepy caves that reminded me of something out of an underground crypt. Then the rest of the hike-gave me the feeling of being in a scary movie. I didn't mention this to my husband thinking it was just me, but wasn't surprised when he brought it up towards the end of the trail all on his own. And wouldn't you Know it, he says not two minutes after the creepy vibe Conversation that "the lady in her fancy dress sketching" didn't help. Needless to say, I did not see the lady nor did I want to go back so he could "prove he Saw her." I do a lot of hiking, especially in forested areas, but this was a different Kind of vibe that I do not want to re-create.

The lava caves at the end of this hike are amazing. A few can be easily reached and you can walk through, so bring some kind of flashlight and shoes you don't mind getting wet and muddy as the spring comes through the caves.

We had an interesting drive via Apple maps from Pā’ia to this trailhead. It took us down Ehu Road...don’t go this way. It’s a dead end, one lane road (but gorgeous and a very slow way to not get there). The trek to the lava tubes and I’m guessing the spring, was so muddy we couldn’t make it safely down the switchbacks and had to turn around. The walk thru the forest loop was lovely however and we were alone for most of it which was nice.

This trail has 2 personalities. Loop portion is nice and easy. The Spring portion is deceiving - 0.8 miles of switchbacks which we felt kicked our asses on the way up! There are parts that look like belong in fairyland. We were disappointed not to see the spring but marveled at the lava holes - I’ve never seen so many!.

wonderful trail, very relaxing.

We really liked the peace and quietness - it was lovely and cool. The switchback down to the springs was okay if you took it slowly. We had the trail to ourselves - thoroughly recommend

First part was easy, nice walk through the woods. If you want to get to Lava tubes, it’s harder.
Took 30 lb dog who loved it!

Decent but pretty normal forest, not palm nor rain forest, which is the reason we came to Maui.

We took our 30lb dog with us for this hike and we all had a great time. Took about 2 hours start to finish but we very much took our time. The last part of the trail before looping back is a steep zig-zag downhill to the “spring”. No water was flowing for us today but it was quite the gorge. Some locals even showed us these secret tunnels behind the rock face that give you quite the view of the little valley, though it was beyond the “trail ends here” danger signs and we were later informed that the rocks back there have been quite loose lately and tumble often.

Was out geocaching nearby and walked this trail. A little treacherous with a tree or fallen over the trail. The spring was running at a trickle but the smells and sounds of the forest were amazing.
Kinda reminded me of a forest found in a fairytale..pixie type forest.

Great hike, beautiful trees, very quiet. Trying to find the trail head is a bit of a challenge, but its a great, twisty, scenic drive to get there. Lately there have been break ins, a sign said, so don't leave your valuables in your vehicle. There is an off shoot to the stream which is hard to get to, very steep in points, cliffs, etc. but if you make to the bottom there are amazing, caves to see coming out of the cliffs, very cool!

Very scenic and quiet. The smell of pine was everywhere and a good 20° cooler than our home in Kihei. All in all a nice hike.

We drove from Kihei so it wasn't totally worth the drive. Very scenic and eerily quiet, but much more scenic spots on the island. We hiked all the way down to the bottom of the springs which are dried up. Up and down to the lower spring and cave are the most strenuous part of the hike. Still can't believe how quiet it is.

Cute day hike and the caves are cool!

Easy hike except the part down a very steep path that switches back to the springs. Not a lot of water in spring in January. Impressive cliff looking up from bottom of the path. As the elevation is higher in this hike, it is a bit cooler than at the beach. We found it just right to walk on a hike in this temperature.

Relaxing walk in pine tree forest.

Beautiful walk through the forest of trees!!Easy walking for most of the hike. Moderate is an accurate rating for the hike in and around the loop. The switchbacks down to the lava tubes though need to be rated difficult. Steep decline down! We did not see a waterfall. Not sure if it was because water was low or we needed to explore somewhere else? Lava tubes were very cool but very treacherous to be climbing in and around.

the officially mapped portion is in great easy shape. very wide. grades are not a problem. some tree roots and slick flat rocks to be aware of when wet. the switchbacks down to the bottom of the lava tube cliff face is narrow and slippery. the wet leaf debris from the trees actually offered more traction than rocks or roots. great sight at the bottom, even when no water is flowing.

Interested in this hike! Anyone know of any avid hiking groups I may join in Maui?

Very easy trail; good for young children too. Not sure it should be rated "Moderate".

This was a great first hike for our trip to Maui with the kids. We carried our 2y.o. And our 5y.o. Walked. Let me start by pointing out the crazy road to trailhead. It was super narrow with hair pin turns! We rented a Tahoe... Renting a Fiat next time. Finding the trail head was easy and parking was no problem since we got there early. At first glance we were kinda stumped at the tall pine trees lining the path. All the hiking we have done in Oahu and none look like this. Then for the next hour we walked (lots of exploring) it felt like we were in another world. Pretty cool experience! For the parents taking keiki- the loop is safe and well groomed. However the path down to the spring is for more experienced keiki hikers. We made it down half way and decided It was alil too muddy and slippery for us.