diff --git a/tests/test_data_cloud.py b/tests/test_data_cloud.py
index c62bce045..0e3737deb 100644
--- a/tests/test_data_cloud.py
+++ b/tests/test_data_cloud.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from subprocess import CalledProcessError
-from subprocess import check_output
+from subprocess import check_output, Popen
 from unittest import SkipTest
 import os
 import time
@@ -94,6 +94,13 @@ def _should_test_hdfs():
     except (CalledProcessError, IOError):
         return False
 
+    p = Popen('hadoop fs -ls hdfs://127.0.0.1/',
+              shell=True,
+              executable=os.getenv('SHELL'))
+    p.communicate()
+    if p.returncode != 0:
+        return False
+
     return True