Swimming in the waters is not recommended because of the danger of Leptospirosis and other pathogenic microbes.

      Be sure to see the ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs while you are here.

     In late June of 2006, the Lost production company doanted hundreds of native plants to the Hawaii Dep't of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), which were planted with the help of the Friends of Kapena Falls and the Outdoor Circle, as well as Navy sailors from the USS Denver LPD-9, here in Hawai'i for the RIMPAC exercise. Lost Virtual Tour spoke with Nessa Viera, president of the Friends of Kapena Falls, and she noted areas where the film crew had brought equipment. According to Viera, foliage was not only trampled, but also intentionally removed or relocated for the purposes of the filming. She added that she was pleased that Lost had done what was right to help restore the area (which was also damaged by a record rainy season) with the donation of so many plants. We noted entire hillsides completely replanted by these volunteers. Viera added that the donations helped community goodwill toward further filming at the site. Viera created the guardian organization in 2002 after a film crew for a movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson proposed a stunt scene driving a Jeep over the cliff edge into the pond below.
     The Lost production is known for cleaning up filming sites both before and after their filming. Cleanup before filming is necessary so litter and other debris is not depicted in scenes from the Island. They also cleaned up large numbers of abandoned automobiles from the Ka Iwi coastline, site of the camp for The Others.


Links:

Honolulu Star-Bulletin 2006 article on Lost's donation of plants to replant the Kapena Falls area
Honolulu Advertiser 2006 article on same event as above.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin 2002 article on filming for a movie starring The Rock.

Address: Undeveloped state land by the lower Pali Hwy (61).

Directions:
Access 1: Travel south (toward downtown Honolulu) down the Pali Hwy 61, and park in the last lookout pullover by the Japanese pagoda (it comes up after an overpass and curve after the Wylie St. exit.) Don't leave valuables in the car. The trail access heads down a little north of the lookout.

If you're coming from Waikiki, Take H1 west, then take the Pali Hwy exit. You'll proceed north up the Pali Hwy, then make a safe legal U-turn to turn aroundanywhere between Jack Lane/Akamu Place and Nuuanu Pali Drive, and head back down South on the Pali Hwy, and follow instructions as above. We don't recommend this access as it requires walking alongside the road from the pullover to the trail.


Access 2: Go to Nuuanu St., and enter the Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary. Drive all the way in (straight, right turn, pass a small rotary) to the final parking lot inside the park, and the trailhead is pictured at left.