Hanapepe Swinging Bridge

If you are passing through the area to Waimea Canyon pull off of Hwy 50 to walk and to rock the bridge. It’s worth 15 – 20 minutes. Then stroll the quirky town of Hanapepe — a place time has forgotten

Stumbled upon the swinging bridge while strolling around the cute little town of Hanapepe. This is where God answered my prayers for a full colorful rainbow while vacationing in Kauai.

Pretty cool to walk across. The bridge actually does swing a bit, go figure! It will take you less than 10 min and that’s including taking pictures. If you’re in the area, check it out, but not something you need to go out of your way for.

I wouldn’t drive out of my way to experience this bridge, but walked across, since we were at the Friday night art walk anyways. The bridge is a true swinging bridge and you get some very nice views while crossing.

Free. its cool to stand in the middle and feel the bridge sway. If you walk further into the valley it’s beautiful, but make sure you are not trespassing on private property. I don’t recommend swimming in the Hanapepe River.

Give it a try. You are in the area!!!
The bridge is very narrow (as most other Unilocalers have mentioned!) and it flows with the wind! I was nervous to travel across it at first… then I just chickened out!
Husband ran across ran back and posed for pictures :)
We have a good time. It was almost just as fun to watch other tourists travel to the place.
Cool piece of history and we will do it again!

SUPER narrow but fun to walk across. It was beautiful at sunset and I got some pretty good photographs. Just don’t go with a jerk of a husband that likes freaking you out by rocking the thing! :)

If you blink your eyes too long, you’ll miss this place.
It’s old, looks and feels like it’s going to crack, seen a few broken welds on some supports, but fun as hell to walk across.
And yes, it does swing a bit.

HA HA HA! I’m really not much of a tourist but as I was randomly roaming the island of Kauai, a little voice in my head told me to visit the historic town of Hanapepe. I’m sure glad I did. As my friends’ and my eyes darted from store to store, one sign caught our visual field. «Hanapepe Swinging Bridge» Whatever it is, curiosity got the best of us and the car came to a screeching halt. We followed a family who bravely traversed the bridge and at first, I thought, «eh, it’s a swinging bridge… cool.» It was DEFINITELY COOL! As we crossed the bridge, the rain started falling and the wind started the pick up. As we crossed the bridge, it felt like the bridge had reached its threshold of maintaining its structural integrity. What a rush! Surprisingly fun little stop.

Fun. I feel like they’ve fixed it up since I was younger, but I could be imagining that. I’m pretty whimpy on swinging bridges as I think I’m going to fall off. But I didn’t. Whew. Last time I came, I was with my mom. We were perusing the shops and decided to talk a walk across the bridge. It was cool.

offers beautiful views but beware of the wasps and bees that stay near this bridge. worth checking out for the views and history but you can check it all out in a matter of minutes. just good for snapping a few photos and taking in some views. combine this on any Friday night from 6−9pm when the Art Walk is going on — the Art Walk is awesome!

This is a must see bridge! It actually feels like you are in a different country. I admit I was chicken to go on it the first time, but it is an awesome short adventure. Right on the Friday Night Art Walk path– don’t miss this:)

Now I know what you are thinking, its a bridge big deal!
But here is the deal…
It is a swinging bridge (think San Fran bridge just smaller). It sways, it rocks and well to be honest it is kind of creepy being on it because you almost feel like you might fall off of it. But it is beautiful and a part of Hanapepe history (which I love).

It’s a cool spot to see and take a few photos. Nothing to fancy, a beautiful view of the river and it’s in the middle of 3 blocks of art stores and small local restaurants.

nice rustic wooden bridge now reinforced with steel cables. Doesn’t really swing as much as it should. IT creaks while you step onto the wooden planks.
nice photo op

Pretty neat!

This bridge will never be removed from Hanapepe. It contains so much history and memories for so many locals who grew up here. My dad told me stories on how his mom would walk him across the bridge so that he can go to school but stayed on one side of the bridge. My dad would cross the bridge, wave bye, and then immediately duck under the bridge to hide and ditch school.
Pre-​Iniki, this bridge was not re-​enforced with all those cables and wooden planks. It was an actual swinging bridge that moved a lot. My dad said that to get into town from his house, it was either the bridge or walk down a ways to the road and cross over and come all the way back. So when a huge storm floods the river and/​or the bridge is wiped out, school would be canceled until it was fixed.
Right now, it’s so sturdy that they really shouldn’t call it a swinging bridge. It does move, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not how it used be when i first came to Kauai. It really moved and I was pretty scared to cross. Of course, I was 5 or so but still.
Maybe they shouldn’t advertise it so much because it wouldn’t seem to appease tourists so much. It’s more of a historical landmark and if you don’t know the memories behind it, it would just seem like a bridge over a river. I love it.

This bridge was much bigger than I thought it would and it really doesn’t swing that much. I was expecting a rope and wood plank bridge that had big gaps in between the planks like something out of Indiana Jones, but what I got was a very sturdy wooden bridge that sways with your steps. It’s a nice photo op to stop at, but there is nothing to really look at on the other side of the bridge except for some homes. The water below the bridge is super shallow so don’t dive off the bridge unless you want to be paralyzed for the rest of your life.

This place is kind interesting. They have this place a place to go see. It’s really not that cool. Its a bridge that connects to the back of someones house. Really awkward. Its a very old bridge and really cool to stand on and watch the river. But I’m not to sure if its a place of interest.