Wailuku River

The longest river in the Hawaiian islands. The Wailuku River drains the windward slope of Mauna Kea — the world’s tallest mountain measured from base to peak — and flows 32 miles east through the Wailuku River State Park before reaching Hilo Bay. The river drops over Rainbow Falls (Waianuenue, “rainbow seen in water”) and through the dramatic Boiling Pots series of plunge pools, both right inside the city of Hilo. The river is sacred in Hawaiian tradition as the home of Hina, the moon goddess and mother of the demigod Māui.