Naguabo Infinity Pool

Location: Naguabo, El Yunque National Forest

Getting there: Drive for 45 minutes from San Juan to get to the trailhead on the south side of El Yunque National Forest. Start at the Sabana River Recreation Area. Look for a chain link fence surrounding a small structure I assume is infrastructure for the dam. To the left of it you’ll find a trail. You’ll walk on a metal walkway for a ways before you start on the dirt trail.

General Info: This is a challenging 3.7 mile out and back hike with a 744 ft elevation gain. There is a lot of beautiful flora you’ll see as you walk. You are unlikely to see many other people on the trail. We only saw two other groups when we went on a weekend. The trail is cleared well enough in general, but is overgrown in some areas. You may have to walk through mud, climb over fallen trees, and bat at aggressive mosquitoes. The trail is not always very well marked and there was at least once when we weren’t sure where the trail went after crossing a bridge and walking on a cement dam. The right way at this apparent dead end is to the right down a descent where a rope is strung to get down. The trail ends at a narrow metal ladder. I suggest you stop your hike at the top of the ladder as a safety precaution. If you choose to continue, you are nearly there. To get to to the pools in the sloping waterfall, you must scramble up, and then back down, extremely slick rock next to the waterfall. I took off my shoes for more grip getting up. The “infinity pool” itself is very small, so small we actually didn’t even recognize it. We continued a little higher to a much bigger pool, big enough to swim in a little. There was a swing tied up to a tree near the water. The view from here is incredible and the cool water in the pool is a great place to cool off after the long hike. The descent down the rock face is much more slippery than the ascent. This may not be a difficult hike for experienced hikers but I was beat by the time I got back to the car.

Heads up: This is, by far, the most dangerous trail you can attempt in Puerto Rico. There are a couple areas with sheer drops and others with potential to fall a dozen feet. Climbing up the smooth rocks on the left of the waterfall to get to the “infinity pool” or larger pool is incredibly dangerous. It was extremely slippery when I went and the rock was bone dry. A friend that hiked with us went back the next week and took a tumble in this area that sent her to the ER. The week after that, we heard two brothers died sliding down that same section. If you get caught in the rain at the “infinity pool”, even a light drizzle, you could be in serious trouble. For this reason I recommend stopping at the top of the ladder to take in the view. If you continue up to the pool, take it very slow. This trail is apparently crossing private property, according to Alltrails. If it’s anyone’s private property, it can only be the company that operates the dam as this is located within El Yunque National Forest. There are a couple moderately difficult sections along the way before you get to the ladder where you’ll need to scramble up rocks using a rope.