Kipu Falls: One of Hawaii's Most Dangerous Tourist Spots

Kipu Falls, a popular "off the beaten path" waterfall and swimming hole in Hawaii, has earned a reputation as more deadly than fun.
Five visitors have drowned at Kipu Falls in the past five years, including two since December. Most of the fatalities resulted from swimmers jumping off the top of the waterfall into the pool below, only to be pulled to their deaths while attempting to swim to the shore.
Other swimmers have suffered chest injuries, rope burns, perforated eardrums and broken and sprained ankles. One teenage girl was paralyzed after jumping Kipu Falls.
The deaths and injuries have the local tourism bureau mounting a campaign to push guidebooks to remove all the references to Kipu Falls. Local authorities are pushing for greater restrictions to the site based on rumors that their may be a powerful whirlpool current in the swimming hole.
A bill was introduced in the Hawaii legislature that would have made writers and publishers of travel guides liable if a reader was killed or injured while trespassing on private property the author has depicted. The bill died under pressure from publicists who said it was a violation of First Amendment rights.

The Kauai Visitors Bureau is urging hotel concierges and tour operators to steer people away from the area.
Sue Kanoho, the agency's director, notes that anyone who goes to the falls is trespassing -- the pool and falls are on private property owned by Grove Farm, according to the Associated Press.
John Blalock, deputy chief of the Kauai Fire Department, notes that Kipu Falls doesn't have any strange or unusual currents and that his rescue divers have told him the water is actually calm under the surface.