Spanish Steps on Naval Base Guam is one of the best hikes and snorkeling areas on Guam that we have been to so far! This short but adventurous hike with ropes, ladders, & stairs leads to an amazing hidden oasis. This is a must do while in Guam!

The hike is rated moderate due to the inclines, climbing, rope use, and ladders. It is however a short hike it took us about 13 minutes to get down and that was with me stopping to take photos it was closer to 11 minutes to get back up. Gloves are a good idea to help as you use the ropes and grab onto some of the rocks while climbing.

Once on US Naval Base Guam take Route 1 until the the end and make the onto San Luis Rd, then a right onto Orote point road. After you pass vacant guard shack there will be a gravel road on the right in a grassy area, turn here and this will lead to the parking area.

Large parking area in a grass area, park in front the signs. Make sure to read the signs to be informed of the rip currents if you plan on swimming or snorkeling as the current can be strong through there.

There is cell phone reception all the way down the hike and down the bottom as well. I even had it while we’re out snorkeling because I heard messages coming through my waterproof bag. As we got further out to the left I did lose signal for a little bit but not long. So this is great if you’re going as a date day while the kids are in school you know the people are still able to get a hold of you if needed.

The hike down will require some stairs, using a rope, climbing a ladder, and trying not to slide on the slippery gravel on the declines. However after the adventure down you’ll be rewarded with a breathtaking view. While we were there a group came down and watching them walk out into the clearing was fun as they were gasping and exclaiming at the sight in front of them!

While the ropes were super handy the gloves in our backpack were much appreciated to use them.

Note the slippery gravel at the bottom of the ladder, I know someone who successfully managed the whole climb down and then took a bad spill at this spot.

Hopefully these pics of the hike will give you an idea of if this is a good hike for your family.

Once you get to the bottom there’s a large rocky area where you can set your stuff and change into snorkeling gear. This area does have some strong rip currents so be aware of the area and where the currents are. Make sure you check out the large signs before heading down they show the current. The day we were snorkeling there was some small current flowing through but it was nothing scary or anything to worry about. As long as you stay in that protected cove area it’s pretty mild. And if you have fins with your snorkel gear makes swimming a lot easier.

Note there is a path to the right that will take you to a sandy beach area but it’s been closed awhile for turtle nesting according to the sign.

I recommend bringing a waterproof camera or a waterproof bag for your cell phone so you’re able to take them to take pictures, there some great picture opportunities. If you’re looking at the swimming area from the shore there’s a small island directly in front of you, if you go to the right and around it to the left there are so many fish it’s like swimming in an aquarium. Behind that if you keep going down to the left along that wall ridge there were a lot of blue starfish. The area is fairly shallow with some deeper areas but nothing really extreme. Do take care while you’re swimming over the rocks and coral if you’re in a shallow area watch your knees and arms because if you drag them you will get some cuts. Try to swim around the shallow part with the coral and rock to avoid bumping into them.

It is some of the best snorkeling we’ve had so far here in Guam. Tons of fish great beautiful area, not very many people. It’s a great little secret oasis.

Many types of fish!

The hike back up was fairly easy it did require a bit more muscle power and will get your heart pumping a little bit but it was nothing terrible as long as you have good mobility. I do have friends who have done this with their littles who are four and two they wore the youngest and the older one walked. While it may not be ideal for all with littles those who are a little bit more adventurous should be fine. There are some steep areas and where there is gravel it is a little bit slippery so watch your footing if you are hiking with littles.

There’s also a cave down at the bottom. We took a quick peek in but did not walk through to the other side as we didn’t have a headlamp with us at the time and we were headed back up to the top.

I do realize that visiting the Spanish steps can be a bit challenging because it is closed what seems like often & randomly. The best policy is to monitor the US Naval Guam Facebook page, and in the NOTES section on the left hand side you’ll find current updated information for the month about whether the beaches are open or close and this includes Spanish Steps. You can’t see the Notes from a mobile phone without the direct link though, so that’s annoying. Also note they can however close quickly or last minutes notice due to mission requirements so always have a backup plan in mind.

Overall I’d say Spanish steps is a must visit for those here in Guam and for those visiting Guam! I can’t wait for some of our family to come visit so that we can take them!

Know Before You Go

What: Spanish Steps – US Naval Base Guam

Hike Info: Rated – Medium, Length – 1 mile, Elevation change- 160 feet both up and down.

How To Get There: It’s on US Naval Base Guam at Orote Point. This is a google map to the parking area HERE it’s from Andersen but you can change the from on the left hand side.

Bring: Water! Clothing: Swimsuit, swim shoes, & snorkel gear. Fins are great here as the currents can be temperamental & strong. Also sunscreen, & snacks. Visor/hat/sunglasses are optional. Also waterproof bags for cellphones, at a bare minimum as zip lock bag so it doesn’t drown if you get caught in a downpour!

Parking: Large parking area in grassy field before the signs at the start of the hike area.

Cost: Free

Traveling with little kids: While this is a bit of a challenging hike it can be done with littles for the adventurous. Take care to mind your step on the lose gravel going up and down.

How long: Plan on at least 1-2 hour to hike down and swim/snorkel & hike back up. Possibly more if you want to check out the cave & well.

Asan Falls located in Asan, Guam is a short yet challenging hike to jump in some waterfalls and swim. There are several sets of falls that you can hike down and see, although it’s only recommended to jump at the first one due to depth. This hike is rated difficult but we did have a 5 yr old and 13 yr old with us in the group and they did great, see the Know Before You Go info below for more info about taking littles.

Asan Fall is located out towards the Nimitz Hill area. The parking and path is tucked away in a neighborhood. Parking is available in the grassy area to the left of the street. While the hike itself is fairly short it is a bit challenging with the terrain and if go with mud slippery as well. Even with the mud the hike was still doable and we had a great time.

You’ll start on a flat path that will soon turn into a decent via a rocky path towards the falls.

Gloves are helpful so you can grab onto things as you go down.

Once you reach the top of the falls you will then have to descend down the falls as well. There is a rope to the right of the falls that you can use if needed. Once at the bottom you can climb around the narrow shelf to get past the pool, or jump in and swim across it. We had waterproof bags for our backpacks so we chose to jump in and swim. Others had to hand off backpacks to be carried around by those on the ledge so they didn’t get wet.

We seen tons of frogs, do you see him?

You do have to climb back up the falls, see the rope to the left…so keep that in mind your going with kids. We had a 5 yr old & 13 yr old with us and they did great.

From here you can continue down using the path on the right to the next set of falls. The mosquitos were bad the further we went down so make sure you bring spray. We even took out our pull overs and threw them on after getting bit several times. Notice the muddy path, it’s slick because some slid down (by choice) and others were forced to slide by nature 😉

The next set of falls you can swim at or continue down, again using the path on the right. This next path had a steeper decent that was all mud, which made for some slipping and sliding. We were able to successfully get all the group down and back up, but we did have a few falls and get muddy.

After your through the path you’ll cross/walk through a river to get to the end of the steep fall. It’s a great spot for taking a photo before you head back up the trail.

When we hiked back up we stopped at the first falls to do some jumping. It looks like you have to jump far out because of the rocks below but its not what it seems. There were some people swimming when we got back up to the top and they had some kids (maybe 7-10 yrs old) that were enjoying jumping from the waterfall. The jump is probably only around 8-10 feet.

This was our first difficult hike and we really enjoyed it! It was not what I was picturing in my mind as difficult, it was easier than I expected. Also note that the waterfall hikes are best done in the raining season which is generally from June to possibly the end of Jan, it’ll vary each year. If you go in the dry months the waterfalls/pools will be stinky & stagnant so keep that in mind when planning!

Know Before You Go

What: Asan Falls – Asan, Guam

Hike Info: Rated – Difficult, Length – 0.9 mile, Elevation change- 160 ft up & down.

How To Get There: It’s off Route 6 in Piti. Approx 45 mins from Andersen AFB and approx 15 mins from NBG. You can see the map HERE, provided by an awesome local hiker, set from Andersen but you can change it to wherever your starting from.

Bring: Water! Clothing: Gloves and capris/long socks are helpful as well due to the crazy mosquitos. Many of us also wore long sleeved pullovers to fend off the bugs. Bug spray! Sunscreen. Snacks. Visor/hat/Sunglasses are optional. Also waterproof bags for cellphones, at a bare minimum as zip lock bag so it doesn’t drown if you get caught in a downpour! Camera floats are also helpful for waterproof cameras & waterproof cell phone bags. Also for this one there is a small ridge you have to go around or jump in the water to get around, we used large waterproof bags to put our backpacks in and we were able to jump in with them and not worry about our stuff getting wet.

Parking: There is a grassy area that you can park in to the left of the road.

Cost: Free

Traveling with little kids: We had a 5 year old in our group and he did great although he did need help with climbing and getting past the slippery mud parts. This may be a tough one to do with kiddos on your back as you have to climb down & up the falls, there are some steep areas, river walking, and if you go after a rain it’s super slippery! Tons of tadpoles & frogs which he found fun. You could also just do the upper falls and not hike down any more if you really wanted to go with littles but you’ll still have to climb down the falls and around the ledge or jump into the water to get around.

How long: Plan on at least 1 hour if your just hiking to the upper falls and swimming. More if you want to swim longer or plan to hike further down. We were here for 2 hours and hiked down to the next 2 set of falls.