Upper Waikani Falls - The Three Bears

A stop on Maui: The Road to Hana, a free self-guided tour.

Look up from the bridge and you will see why this waterfall has a nickname. When the stream is running at a normal level, Upper Waikani Falls splits into three separate streams of different sizes, like a papa bear, a mama bear and a baby bear. After heavy rain they merge into one roaring curtain of water about 70 feet high.

The falls drop into a pool right beside the highway, so you can enjoy them from the road without a hike. That convenience is also the challenge. There is no proper parking lot, the road is narrow, and tour vans stop here often. Only pull over where all four wheels are fully off the road and no sign forbids it. If there is no safe spot, drive on and enjoy the view as a passenger.

Some visitors scramble down to the pool, but the rocks are steep and slippery. If you go, take great care, and never enter the water when it is brown or rising.

Getting here: Continue about 2.5 miles past Halfway to Hana. The falls are on the mountain side of a bridge between mile markers 19 and 20.

Did you know?: The three bears only appear in moderate flow. In a dry spell the falls can shrink to trickles, and in a storm they join into one.

Photo op: From a safe spot off the road near the bridge, frame all three streams of water dropping into the pool below.

Nearby: None. No restrooms, no food and very limited roadside parking.

Upper Waikani Falls - The Three Bears

Stops on this tour