This morning we had every intention of getting to Haleakalā National Park bright and early until we realized that it didn’t open until 9am. The drive to this district of the national park is about 12 miles south of the town of Hana, and there’s still plenty to see on the way. After we made breakfast in the van, we headed over to Kaihalulu Beach, which is the only red sand beach on the island (conveniently located in the town of Hana). It’s kind of a secret beach with an unassuming trail located behind the Hana Community Center, so if you’re interested in visiting, you have to search a little…but who doesn’t like a little trail adventure? We parked in front of the Community Center and found a trail just past the grass lawn. The trail had a few warning signs due to its steepness and how narrow it was, but we were definitely up for the challenge!
The trail hugged the cliffside the entire way, but it was a pretty short hike to the red sand beach. When we arrived, we had the entire beach to ourselves! It’s definitely worth going early if you want a similar experience…by the time we exited the trail there were about ten others just starting….we guess the secret is out.
Our next stop on the way to the national park was Wailua Falls. One of the reasons we love starting our days early is the fact that we get to have these touristy spots all to ourselves, and this was no different. Wailua Falls can be seen right off the road on the way to the national park, but it’s definitely a waterfall worth stopping for! There is a parking area just south of the bridge, and we were the only one there (it definitely becomes more popular as the day goes on…on our way back from the national park around 1pm, the small pull-off lot was full).
After taking in all the beauty of Wailua Falls…and even dipping our feet in the cool, refreshing water…we made our way to the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park. We got there a little before their posted opening time of 9am, and we already saw a line of cars forming in front of the park entrance (about 10 cars). Soon after we joined the line of earlybirds, we noticed they began letting visitors in around 8:45am! Admission to the national park costs $30 per vehicle, but your pass is valid for three days. We planned our national park visit with this in mind, as we’ll be visiting the Summit District of Haleakalā tommorow.
Note: There are actually two different districts of Haleakalā National Park that are not directly connected. This is related to biological protection, but also the fact that different tracts of land were preserved at different times. The “Summit District” was designated a national park in 1976, but the coastal area of the “Kīpahulu District” was not included until 2005. This coastal area became part of the national park because of its natural beauty, but also to preserve the cultural history of this area, which is believed to be one of the earliest settlements of indigenous Hawaiians on the island of Maui!
We began exploring the national park by hiking Pīpīwai Trail. You first pass a Hawaiian cultural demonstration area that has a traditional Hale Hālāwai (meeting house) on display. This hale actually sits at the junction point of the two main trails, the Pīpīwai Trail to the left and Kūloa Point Trail to the right.
The Pīpīwai Trail is a 4-mile out and back trail (2 miles one-way) that is rated as “moderate” and we agree based on the distance and nearly 800ft elevation change. The first portion of the trail was a bit of an incline, but about 0.5 miles in, you’re rewarded with Makahiku Overlook, which gives you a little reminder of what’s to come. The 185-foot Makahiku Falls is amazing, and if you’re lucky you’ll see a few white-tailed tropicbirds flying in the valley below.
If you’re looking for a shorter hike that is still rewarding (1-mile roundtrip), look no further. You can choose to turn around at the Makahiku Overlook, if you’d like. If you decide to continue on (as we did), you’ll soon cross paths with a giant Banyan Tree just after the Makahiku Overlook. We always find these trees to be magical, especially when we have it all to ourselves.
After about a mile in, we reached the bamboo forest. Bamboo (known locally as ʻohe) has an interesting history here on the Hawaiian Islands. Despite what many believe…even some locals…bamboo is not a native plant to Hawaii. Early Polynesian voyagers brought this variety here, along with many other useful plants. For us, this part of the trail marked where the “moderate” trail became more of an “easy” trail. We noticed there was little elevation change after this point, and there were even wooden boardwalks constructed to avoid the uneven ground below. Walking through this part of the trail felt like an absolute fairytale. The creaking bamboo also provided some much-needed refuge from the sun on this particularly hot day.
The even path turned into a rocky scramble for the final 100 feet as we reached the end of the trail and approached Waimoku Falls. This waterfall is one of the biggest (and most dramatic) waterfalls on the island of Maui. It drops over 400-feet down a solid lava rock sheet…completely uninterrupted.
There were posted signs stating that you cannot go into the falls, so after admiring it for a bit, we decided to begin our trek back. We’re really glad that we began our hike early because there were so many people starting the trail as we made our way out.
Once we were out of Pīpīwai Trail, we walked over to our van to take a quick break before our next hike (having our “home” wherever we go has been one of our favorite parts about having a campervan)! After a quick break from the scorching sun, we began hiking the Kūloa Point Trail to check out the Pools of ‘Ohe’o, known to many as the “seven sacred pools” (supposedly coined strictly for tourism purposes, as there are actually more than seven pools). There are also archaeological sites to admire on the way to the ‘Ohe’o Gulch along the short Kūloa Point Trail.
Despite not being able to swim in the pools, it was still quite a sight to see! A park ranger told us that visitors are able to swim in the pools depending on water conditions (lately they have been closed due to “dangerous water conditions”).
By the time we were done with this second trail, we had really worked up an appetite. By now, it was just after noon, so we decided to make our way back to Hana for some huli huli chicken. We heard about Koki’s Famous Huli Huli Chicken Shack on Gordon Ramsay’s show, Uncharted, so of course we had to check it out! This was actually one of the places we tried to stop at yesterday for dinner, but was closed. When we arrived around 1pm, we were happy to see it was open and full of energy! The tent was located right on the beach and served delicious BBQ and potato/mac salad. We got the combo plate, which included huli huli chicken, ribs, white rice, and potato/mac salad…the meats were cooked to perfection and just fell right off the bone!
After we enjoyed our delicious lunch by the beach, listening to a local play the ukulele, we made our way back to camp. We definitely needed to freshen up after a long and sweaty morning, but since our camp was located right on the beach, we decided to use the outdoor showers available to cool off. When we travel, we always pack biodegradable soap and shampoo just for occasions like this.
After a cool and refreshing shower, we decided to explore Waiʻānapanapa State Park a bit. We’ve been wanting to hike the ancient Hoapili Trail, also known as the King’s Trail and sometimes the King’s Highway, to try and find a notable pictograph. This area was formed by one of Maui’s most recent major eruptions in the 18th century. We walked along the cliffside and through a beautiful Hala Tree grove to try and find it, but had no luck. We figured it had been overgrown by the shrubs that covered some of the ancient rock walls, but we weren’t positive. Nonetheless, it was still a beautiful and scenic hike along the coast and near ancient burial grounds.
When we got back to our campervan from the hike, we hopped in our car and drove into Hana to grab dinner. We tried our luck again in the food truck park hoping some of the trucks would be open this time, and found two trucks open for dinner! We got something from each place, an Ono fish burrito from I Lava Tacos and a karaage chicken sandwich with curly fries from The Broken Mouth.
After this long day of adventure, we made our way back to camp to get some much-needed rest. We were so tired that we fell asleep as soon as we hit our bed. Tomorrow we’ll be driving back on the road to (or in the case, “away from”) Hana to head to our next and final campsite. This one’s at 7,000ft above sea level on the dormant Haleakalā shield volcano that makes up more that 75% of the island of Maui…so stay posted!