This Mountain Tubing Adventure Is A Must Have In Hawaii This Summer
With near-perfect weather year-round and arguably some of the most incredible natural scenery in the world, the Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the country’s greatest adventures. From camping on the beach and visiting Waimea Canyon to waterfall hikes and skydiving, there is no greater place for an adventure than Hawaii. And while the options are almost endless, this mountain tubing excursion on the island of Kauai will always top our travel wish list.
Experience the lush beauty of the Garden Island with a mountain tubing excursion with Kauai Backcountry Adventures.
Float through open ditches, narrow tunnels, and flowing flumes, hand-dug back in the 1870s by workers of Lihue’s Old Sugar Plantation on this epic, three-hour journey.
Designed to bring water from the waterfalls and streams of Mt. Waialeale to the sugar cane fields below, the Hanamaulu ditch system is truly a feat of historic engineering.
After more than 100 years in operation, sugar production in Lihue ceased nearly twenty years ago, and since the irrigation system was no longer useful, a 2.5-mile stretch of the canal was restored and opened for recreational use in 2003.
Your tour will begin with a ride in a four-wheel-drive vehicle to the canal access point, where you will be fitted with helmets, headlamps, gloves, and shoes before hopping into the water.
Meandering through some of the most remote land on Kauai, visitors will not only experience the natural beauty of the Garden Island but will make their way through five different tunnels, the longest of which stretches an entire mile in length and will take you 20 minutes to float through!
As your tubing adventure comes to an end, you will be guided to an enchanting picnic area nearby for a delicious lunch followed by a cool dip in a natural swimming hole.
Perfect for the entire family, including individuals as young as five years old and more than 43 inches tall, mountain tubing with Kauai Backcountry Adventures is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you’ll be talking about for years to come.
So, what are you waiting for? Put on a headlamp, jump in a tube, and float down the flumes of the Old Lihue Sugar Plantation. Just be sure to make a reservation well in advance — this is one of Kauai’s most popular tourist activities, after all.
For more information, head on over to the Kauai Backcountry Adventures website and Facebook page. You can also discover another Hawaiian mountain tubing adventure offered on the Big Island here.
Megan is a freelance journalist residing near Honolulu, Hawaii. She is obsessed with hiking, beach trips, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
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