Pete Fisher, owner and founder of Kayak Wai­lua, is serious when he says his hiking and kayaking tour along the Wai­lua River is suitable for just about everyone.

"We’ve taken out paraplegics and blind people," he said. "Participants with prosthetic legs are fairly common. Our youngest guest was an infant, and the oldest was a 90-year-old woman who needed no extra help, although she was exceptionally fit for her age. Our heaviest kayaker was a man who said he weighed 485 pounds. He didn’t huli (capsize), but after the tour, the backrest on his seat looked like a steamroller had run over it."

Fisher grew up in Canandaigua, N.Y., near a lake that was popular for water-skiing. His mother introduced him to the sport when he was 12, and he began competing six years later when he joined the water skiing team as a student at the University of Miami in the 1960s.

He later competed in water ski tournaments around the U.S. and performed in shows at Sea World in Ohio. Fisher moved to Kauai in 1974, drawn by the 20-mile-long Wai­lua River, which he describes as one of the best year-round kayaking and water ski venues in the world. Water ski companies have operated on the river since the 1960s, including Garden Island Ski School, which he ran from 1978 to 1993.

"People still water ski on the Wai­lua River, but kayaking is the main activity there today," Fisher said. "Kauai has other navigable rivers, but Wai­lua is the best for kayaking because it has favorable wind and current conditions most of the time."

He and his family launched Kayak Wai­lua in 1997 as a kayak rental company. It switched from rentals only to tours four years later.

"My daughter and two sons are avid kayakers," Fisher said. "They helped with the business from the beginning by cleaning kayaks and preparing them for renting by setting up the coolers, paddles, dry bags and backrests. They also took reservations and gave customers directions and paddling instructions. When we started the tours, all of them worked as guides."

KAYAK Wailua is the only company in Hawaii that offers triple kayaks, which are large enough to accommodate four people if at least one of the riders weighs less than 60 pounds.

After an orientation, guests are shuttled to the launch site at the Wai­lua River Marina. They paddle about two miles upstream over calm, flat waters to the trail head, where they secure their kayaks and begin a mile-long, primarily level hike through a rain forest fragrant with awa­puhi ginger.

A few hundred yards past the place where the kayaks are kept, tour-goers cross a stream that’s usually at least a few feet deep. "It’s not as scary as it might sound," Fisher said. "People hang on to a rope that runs the entire width of the stream. They walk on submerged rocks in the stream, so they’ll get wet at least up to their knees."

The reward at the end of the trail is 100-foot-high Ulu­wehi Falls, popularly known as Secret Falls. Tour-goers spend an hour there — swimming, relaxing and enjoying the scenery and refreshments — before hiking to the kayaks for the trip back to the marina.

Paddling up the Wai­lua River to the trail head is easier than going downstream to the launch site because tradewinds blow toward the mountains, providing a tailwind boost. On the return leg, kayakers paddle against a head wind.

Still, Fisher said, "Our tour is not really physically demanding. Anyone who is in relatively good shape can do it; it doesn’t require a certain fitness level or special athletic skills. Kayaking is great exercise for the abdominal muscles and upper body. It’s also one of the few activities people of all ages can do."

During the tour, participants are likely to spot egrets, herons, mudhens and white-tailed tropic birds. Guava, mangoes and mountain apples — tasty, juicy snacks within easy reach — are abundant along the trail in the summer.

Many other sightseeing options in Hawaii involve riding in a bus, van, plane or helicopter. In Fisher’s opinion, visitors can’t experience a closeness with nature when they’re sitting in a vehicle, looking out a window.

"On our five-hour tour, you’re right in nature," he said. "You not only see it, you feel, hear, smell and taste it. It’s a great way for families to exercise and discover the beauty of Kauai together."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.