Last updated on February 2, 2022
FYI Trey wrote most of this one with Laura adding in some supplemental text. The Hana Highway, colloquially referred to as The Road To Hana, is a 52-mile-long stretch of roads which connects Kahului (where the airport is) to the town of Hana in east Maui. Although Hana is only about 52 miles from Kahului, an uninterrupted car-trip takes about 2.5 hours to drive since the highway is very windy, narrow, and passes over 59 bridges, many of which are only one lane wide. Someone actually counted the number of curves and came up with 620 curves over the entirety of the drive. We had been to Hana in the past and wanted to show the kids because there are some things in and around Hana that are not to be missed. There are dozens of sites to see along the road to Hana and there are entire websites devoted to ensuring that you don’t miss a highlight. Many people will make the drive out and back in one day, but to really do the trip and sites justice you should find a place to stay in Hana for a few nights so that you can see all of the sites at a more measured pace. Be careful. The other name for this stretch of road is “divorce highway.”
Our first stop on the road to Hana was the twin waterfalls which came up after just about 30 minutes. The land is owned by Wailele Farm and they charge a reasonable $10 for parking and have a food stand, parking lot, port-a-potties, good signage, and well maintained paths that go past 3 different waterfalls. The farthest waterfall is about 3/4 mile up, but it seemed much shorter than that to me. The closest one is really close, like a baby could get there. It is a bit steep getting down to the first 2 waterfalls with some big rocks and tree root hand holds to assist you. If you are thinking of NOT wearing your suit, change your mind. Laura did. It is worth going in and jumping off the ledges at the first or second of the falls and swimming under the waterfall is a must at the third one. The water is cold, like your body goes numb kind of cold, but somehow it doesn’t matter when you are swimming in a waterfall in Hawaii. Griffin strongly dislikes cold water, but he got over it and jumped into the 2nd waterfall pool from a ledge.
Tips: There are mosquitos. We didn’t wear bug spray and should have been more prepared. This was our first day on the “wet” rainforest side of the island. There really aren’t mossies on the west, dry side so we forgot. You can wear Keens or Tevas on this one. No hiking boots needed. Also, East Maui is known for its flash floods so be prepared and know the signs for avoiding one before you visit the sites.
This land appears to have been part of the old sugar cane industry with the remains of water sluice gates for irrigation. They do sell home made sugar cane lime drinks at the stand which in hind sight would have been fun to try.
At the third waterfall, Trey, Marin, Sy and Laura swam straight under the waterfall to the other side. It feels kind of strange, like being pummeled by an exuberant masseuse while holding your breath and swimming. Marin and Trey liked it and did it a few times. Sy and Laura swam around the side on the way back.
We stopped for lunch at the Halfway to Hana food stand and got Kalua pork sandwiches, cheeseburgers, banana bread and some really good shave ice. Trey has decreed that shave ice is much better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the bottom.
We realized too late that we set off on this several hour drive with a 1/4 tank of gas. There is no gas until you get to Hana so we did a bit of practical math together, guessing our tank holds 16 gallons, maybe gas mileage is around 12 miles a gallon on this windy, switchback road, distance about 30 miles…we calculated that we would make it and we did. Phew! We filled up immediately when we arrived in Hana in case things are not open here on Sundays. We are kind of in the sticks now. There is no cell service at all. Hana may have the highest gas prices in the country.
We are staying at a traditional Hawaiian home in Hana for 3 nights while we explore the bamboo hike, Venus pool, black sand beach, and red sand beach. These houses are usually built on stilts with an open plan to maximize air flow because they usually do not have air conditioning. It is hard to find houses in Hawaii to rent through airbnb or VRBO any more due to new state regulations. Trey found this place with no reviews and we crossed our fingers. The owner was a very nice man who insisted on going through all of the rules in person via FaceTime. A lot has changed in Hana since we were last here about 12 years ago with the pre-kid Mayhews. There is more traffic and more places to eat with little gatherings of food trucks and a farmer’s market. There are 2 markets that sell very bare bones food necessities. We bought one bag of groceries for $105 and thought maybe we were back at Whole Foods!
There is a great view out the front windows down to the ocean and a lovely breeze coming through the whole house. I, Laura, am not super thrilled with the bug situation, but that’s what you get in a rainforest! There are a ton of small gnats, some mosquitos and I just saw a gecko run by on the wall by the TV. That thing better get to work eating some of these bugs! Don’t get me wrong…it’s not the worst sleeping situation that I have ever been in. It is certainly not as bad as the sheepherder’s cottage in New Zealand where we spent our honeymoon. Some of you may recall that I spent the night in a large bathtub to avoid the mice that were running over our bed to get to Trey’s food stash in the closet. I am currently planning to sleep in a bed with a large fan blowing the bugs away. Do geckos make chirping sounds?
A friendly, young cat shows up at our house every evening. The kids named him Carl which the boys pronounce as a new 2 syllable word, “Ca-wel”. They both have unique R-L pronunciation. Ca-wel tries to get into the house and we have to shoo him away.
The first must-see near Hana is the bamboo forest hike. It was a hit with the kids. You can find it on AllTrails here. It is called Waimoku Falls via Pipiwai Trail. It’s an out and back about 2 miles up and 2 miles back that starts with the uphill. Every time you start getting a little tired there is something new to see…a cool banyan tree, bridges, medium-sized waterfalls, a bamboo forest, boardwalks, a huge waterfall. We had some initial whining about the steady, continuous uphill, but Trey brought Haribo gummy frogs for bait which are always helpful. You can see from the photos that this is a special and unique place. The area around this hike which includes Pipiwai trail and the Seven Sacred Pools is part of the Haleakalā National Park. You used to be able to enter the water in several places, but this is no longer the case. The price of becoming a popular tourist attraction is that the US government doesn’t like it when people die at their national parks so swimming is no longer allowed.
Tip: There is a sign towards the end of the trail that warns you to stop going forward to the base of the big falls. Ignore this. It says something like: do not go closer, danger, fines, death will follow, etc. Locals coming back from behind that sign said it’s fine, keep going. If you bypass this sign you can get right under the super tall waterfall. Just do so at your own risk as there is always the risk of falling rocks. We wore hiking boots, but some were going up in sandals.
A new must-see attraction in the area is the Venus Pool, aka Waioka Pond. It is just now getting on the radar of Hana travelers and totally worth the buzz. There are only a few parking spots near the trailhead, but fortunately we could walk to it from our house. The place is a little sketchy with signs suggesting the area is private property and to keep out, but for now it is completely open to the public. You do have to know where you are going though because the trailhead is completely concealed by a short wall with a fruit stand in front of it. It is only a short 1/4 mile walk through a grass field until you hit the pool. Picture a 100-by-100 ft pool of clear water that is upwards of 50 feet deep and surrounded by rocks that you can jump off into the water. Each child was able to find an appropriate rock to jump off for their given level. Marin and Trey went off the highest one…about 40 feet. The day that we were there a few experienced divers did flips and twists. Be careful at this site because it can flash flood and tourists have died here in the past.
A staple of the Hana sites is the black sand beach in Waianapanapa State Park. It is the most popular site on the road to Hana and has gotten so busy that you need to buy an access pass to the park prior to arriving. You can usually get a pass the day before and each pass gives you 2-3 hours of time to spend at the site which should be plenty of time to see all of the attractions from the beach to hikes to a lava tube and a blowhole. The water is usually too rough to swim in, but you can wade and play in the shallows. We all went into the lava tube which ends in the ocean. I recommend hiking up the western side of the beach to get a great view of the beach, hala (holla’) groves, a small blowhole and the verdant Naupaka flora.
The final must-see site near Hana is the red sand beach, aka Kaihalulu Beach. It is unlike any beach that we have ever seen and was a favorite of ours in the past. Kaihalulu is extremely isolated and requires a fairly short, yet perilous hike to reach. I recommend seeing this earlier in the day because the beach is sheltered from the sun fairly quickly in the late afternoon decreasing the temperatures and light sooner than you would think. The trail to the beach crosses over private property and follows a ridge high above the ocean below. Again, ignore the prominently displayed “private property, trail closed” signs nearby. The path is somewhat steep and narrow and is quite slippery due to the loose and crumbling cinder as well as needles from nearby ironwood trees. Marin and Sy nimbly ran ahead and were down on the beach quickly while Trey took photos and Griffin and I inched, literally inched, along clinging to the few exposed tree roots that were available. I kept reminding Griff of our narrow trail mantra, “keep looking where you want to go”, to avoid staring at the knife edge that leads to “sudden death, death, death” (more quote ID bonus here!).
The beach is partially shielded from the rough open ocean by an offshore reef. The result is a natural sea wall that protects the bay from large waves. The sand is a deep red-black which contrasts with the blue water, the black sea wall, and the green ironwood trees. This hill is rich in iron which is why the beach’s sand is such a deep red. It is also why the sand is magnetic here. While Trey and Marin were jumping off the sea wall into the waves, the boys were happily occupied with sticking rocks to the magnet on Trey’s cell phone case. This is a similar property to the sand at the black sand beach that is magnetic due to high levels of magnetite.
A note about beaches in Hawaii:
According to the Hawaii Supreme Court all beaches in Hawaii are open to the public with the exception of certain federal government areas. There are NO private beaches in Hawaii! Any land below the highest wave line is considered state property and open to the public. In general, the highest wave line is indicated where the wet sand changes to dry sand, found only during the peak hours of high tides. In the past, some private landowners camouflaged beach access points in Hawaii to add additional privacy by blocking beach pathways. This should not be an issue today because it is a public offense and misdemeanor to block public access to beaches. The county government and private landowners are actually required to provide public access and maintain the natural plantation in the area.
The road out of Hana early Tuesday morning was mostly uneventful other than some contruction delays and tight squeezes behind a bulldozer. We were on the lookout for the rainbow eucalyptus trees on the side of the road. We checked into the Maui airport and had an uneventful 45 minute Hawaiian Air flight to Honolulu. I wish every airline were like Hawaiian Air…friendly, fast and serves tropical juice.
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