The Spouting Horn blowhole is Hawaii’s second largest blowhole that shoots up to 50 feet in the air.
Last updated: March 21, 2025
Location and Secluded Nature of Spouting Horn
Nestled on the rocky shore of the South Coast of Kauai, Spouting Horn interrupts the serenity and green display of the Garden Island. The state of tranquility still prevails. But it’s a different kind of peacefulness. Devoid of the perpetual flow of curious speculators, Spouting Horn makes a sound that can drown out a crown while enjoying the complete isolation.
Onlookers still gather around Kauai’s rare natural gem. But they linger farther away, mostly at the top of a small hill with a guard rail. During our visit to the island several years ago, the area also hosted an artisans market. Handmade in Hawaii, these craft items attracted as much attention as the Spouting Horn blowhole.
How to View Spouting Horn
Those who know the true nature of Hawaii’s blowholes erect an invisible guard rail around the spitting underwater lava cave as well, never crossing or even approaching it. And this is how the Spouting Horn blowhole should be treated: admired and enjoyed, but only from a distance. Getting any closer can turn into a fatal mistake.
Spouting Horn spits out jets of water that reach up to 50 (occasionally even more) feet in the air. The only other Hawaii’s blowhole that can match and frequently exceed this magnitude is the Nakalele Blowhole on Maui.
The massive sprays of water can suck in anybody and anything inside the underground lava tube without releasing their grip and giving a victim a chance to escape. Similarly the crashing waves are adept at sweeping into the ocean any oblivious onlookers that get too comfortable or too ignorant of the forces of nature.
TIP: So when visiting Spouting Horn, treat it as a hazardous area. Stay away from the blowhole at any time. Enjoy it from a distance or behind the guard rail. The spectacle is impressive and large enough to admire from this far.
How Often Does the Blowhole “Erupt”
Spouting Horn ousts a hissing uproar that you can hear from afar. With a thundering sound, the colossal jests of water escape the secluded blowhole every few minutes. The sight is a real spectacle, one you can never get tired of.
Unlike traditional volcanic eruptions that put on a show at certain intervals of time, Spouting Horn and other “ocean geysers” eject tons of water up in the air every 2-3 minutes. To compare, the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park is world-famous for its predictability. The geyser erupts every 90 minutes, with the discrepancy of plus-minus 10 minutes.
Spouting Horn Legend
Hawaiians have legends for everything. Spouting Horn also has a tale that explains its origins.
A long time ago when ancient creatures shaped and claimed the surface of the Hawaiian Islands, a giant mo’o (Hawaiian for lizard) named Kaikapu terrorized the coastline of Kauai. Nobody could come and go to the lizard’s kingdom unnoticed. Kaikapu would eat anybody who attempted to fish or swim in the ocean.
When the fear of the lizard reached its limit, one brave boy by the name of Liko decided to outsmart the creature once and for all. The boy jumped into the ocean. The mo’o was quick to attack him. Immediately, Liko thrust a sharp stick into the creature’s mouth, jerked under the long lava ledge, and broke free through a small hole in the underwater cave’s ceiling.
The mo’o followed the boy, but got stuck in the narrow lava tube. Kaikapu couldn’t move neither forward nor backward. In agony, the mo’o started hissing, trembling the shore and the ocean right underneath it. A large column of water expelled into the air. It has been reappearing every time the lizard roars or takes a breath ever since.
