Having been to Maui twice as a young kid, the thing I remember most about it was the Road to Hana. So I was very excited to share this with Daniel and the kids. We packed a picnic lunch and some snacks and set off, not too early, but early enough to try and beat any crowds. I think going during the “off” season was especially helpful. It was still busy because there really is no “off” season in paradise, but I was happy to see that the farther down the road we got, the less people we came into contact with.
The Road to Hana is just that. A road. It really isn’t Hana as a destination, but the road itself is why you make the journey. It is the worst kept secret on the island, but also the best priced excursion to go on (psst, it’s free). If you are on Maui, you must at least drive half the road. You can turn around at any time, or you can be like us and crave to see what is around the next turn. We didn’t stop everywhere, but here are some of the highlights and exact mile marker locations that we stopped at that I feel were the best.
The Road to Hana is roughly 64 miles and it will take you the better part of the day if you really are doing it right. My best advice is to slow down, wave at others, and take some risks.
You should absolutely take with you a packed lunch, plenty of water, towels, change of clothes, tennis shoes and flip flops and possibly a rain jacket. Very unexpected things happen on adventures, after all.
Mile Marker 2: Right off the bat, Twin Falls is a great stop. There is a great little farm stand at the road and a nice hike through a farm to get to the falls. There is an upper and a lower falls. We did a little light swimming at the lower falls. The water is very cool, but very refreshing. There are port-a-johns here if needed. Chickens are running free, there are bamboo and other botanicals to admire and walk among. This was a great stop to get the kids excited about the long road ahead.
Mile Marker 10: Garden of Eden Arboretum. There is a very small parking area just past the gate on the opposite side of the road of the Arboretum. Don’t get discouraged. This is an awesome stop that most people wouldn’t bother with because you can’t see anything from the road. Through the gate, about 1/4 mile walk, you will find a beautiful stream and botanicals and further up is Puohokamoa Falls. We spent a good amount of time just wading in the stream and it’s pools. There are lots of bugs here! Bring your bug spray!
Mile Marker 14: Honomanu Bay. I’m surprised, most people leave this off their must-see list. This was one of our favorites. It is located on a road tucked just around a corner. You’ll miss it if you aren’t looking for it. It is a breathtaking black sand beach that is the essence of seclusion. We had this all to ourselves for a good 45 minutes. The views were impressive and the black sand was such a wonder to the kids. We swam in the fresh water pond where it meets the ocean and talked of dreams of building a house just on the edge of the water and living out our days there (the horses would of course come and enjoy it with us 😉 ).
Mile Marker 16: Ke’anae coastline. This is another stop many people may miss because it requires you to get off the highway and drive down to the coast. This was where we decided to take our picnic lunch. The coast is rocky and swimming is not possible, but the juxtaposition of rock to ocean, and green on the cliffs behind it, is truly breathtaking. We sat and watched the waves hit the rocks, talked to some locals and explored the pools created in the niches of the rocks. This spot is a great reminder of how diverse the coastline is.
Mile Marker 22: Pua’a Ka’a Wayside Park is where we did most of our swimming. The water is very cold, but the waterfall is just too beautiful to pass up the opportunity. Daniel even jumped from the waterfall! (Wade also wanted to, but we voted against him)
Mile Marker 32: Waianapanapa State Park is truly a treasure. The black sand of the beach is so fine and incredibly beautiful. The views here alone make it worth the stop. This was one of the busier stops on the road and we were losing daylight quickly, so we didn’t stay long. However, we did go down to the beach and explore the lava tube that empties into the ocean. On the way we also stopped at a road side stand and got a coconut. Finley had been saying how much she wanted to try one…. well, she tried it… and decided it wasn’t worth the hype. You can clearly see the skepticism on her face. haha.
Mile Marker 42: We past quickly through Hana town and went to Kipahulu, Haleakala National Park. We had told the kids about the Seven Sacred Pools before we went on this trip, and they could not wait to see this, they truly were most excited about this. Well, unfortunately, the Pools are/were closed to public now. When I was a kid, we swam and jumped off the cliffs into the pools. I don’t know if it’s temporary because of the rainy season, but you could get no where near the Pools when we went. We were all very, very sad about this, but we understand that flash floods have caused deaths and of course want to be safe. The views were still beautiful. And hey, if they open the pools again, it will give us another excuse to come back!
The sun was really setting fast on us now. We decided to continue around the island through the rough country roads to really get the experience. As a disclaimer, we had a convertible, and it really isn’t the place for a vehicle like this to be driving. The roads are rough, narrow, and dangerous – this is not an exaggeration. Dangerous. That being said, we are so glad we drove them. Next time we definitely would take a jeep or 4×4 though. We saw farms, horses, cattle in the roadway, and really just had a great time being together. The Road to Hana was definitely a highlight of the trip for all of us.
Check out Maui part 1 or Maui part 3 (where we found sea turtles in Hawaii!)
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