Beautiful trail. Easy and enjoyable. Parking is NOT FREE for tourists unless you make it to the DT…read moreFleming beach front parking lot early in the morning. I mean early...we were the first car there around 6:15 am. Lot still wasn't full around 8 when we left. If you're early risers, get up and go early! Everywhere else suggested for parking requires payment. We loved watching the waves crash on the lava rock near the Ritz Carlton. Also loved the bird sanctuary and seeing all their little nests in the ground!

The coastal trail was a fairly easy hike. Most of the trail was either a boardwalk or paved. Don't…read moreforget water and snacks. By the end of the trail we were both tired and hungry. As luck would have it we found a great little stand selling fresh açaí bowls and smoothies. It was perfect! Then the payoff of DT Fleming beach was worth the trek! Highly recommended!

We tackled the Mahana Ridge Trail on a warm, humid morning, starting just above D.T. Fleming Beach…read more At first, the trail seemed approachable--lush trees, a slight incline, sounds of birds--but that calm quickly gave way to a true backcountry challenge. As we climbed, the path became narrower, steeper, and in some sections, so overgrown we were basically bushwhacking. Mud clung to our sneakers, spiderwebs greeted our faces, and parts of the trail felt like they hadn't seen a hiker in weeks. It was tough, but also strangely meditative. There's a real sense of solitude out there--just you, the forest, and whatever's rustling in the leaves nearby. The terrain shifted constantly. We moved through wild guava trees, thick ferns, and eventually into a grove of towering Cook pines. Reaching the Maunalei Arboretum felt like arriving in a different world. Some of the trees had roots taller than we were, and there were entire stretches of ground that felt like walking on a trampoline--just a thin mesh of tight, spongy roots stretched across the forest floor. It was one of the most unique environments we've ever hiked through. Now, full honesty: after hours on the trail, we were wiped--and the thought of retracing our steps all the way back down didn't exactly spark joy. So, we took a little shortcut: a road that winds down through a private neighborhood. It saved time, saved our legs, and got us to the beach that much faster. No regrets. If you're planning to hike Mahana Ridge, start early--you'll want to beat the heat and make the most of daylight. Sneakers worked fine for us, even with the muddy sections, though expect them to get dirty. Long sleeves and pants are smart for protecting against the overgrowth, and downloading a trail map ahead of time is a must, since you'll lose signal and some junctions aren't clearly marked. Be ready for a workout--this isn't a casual stroll, but a full-on forest adventure. Mahana Ridge was challenging, sweaty, and at times borderline ridiculous--but also unforgettable. It's not the kind of hike where the payoff is one big view at the end. It's the kind where the journey is the reward: the silence, the wild terrain, the spongy roots, and the occasional thrill of wondering, "Are we still on the trail?" And finding out... no you are not.

Finally had the chance to do Mahana Ridge Trail over on West Maui earlier in July 2024 and it is…read moredefinitely a nice scenic hike, though not too difficult at the same time. Much of it is in the shade, which does help but still best to try to start early in the day, as it can get really hot later on. There were other hikers on the trail, so it did not feel too lonely. The trailhead is at D.T. Fleming Beach, and you will want to park in the designated parking lot but will have to pay for an all-day pass through scanning a QR code or going to the stated website on the signs. There are points where you can see Kapalua and the golf courses as well as other parts of the West Maui Mountains. The stretch with the guava trees can be a bit treacherous at times because of the muddy conditions and all the berries that have fallen on the ground. Some of the signage is hard to read or follow at times. I got up to the loop point where you can clearly see Napili, Kapalua as well as the West Maui Mountains, Lana'i, and Moloka'i in the distance. Then turned around at that point, and the hike took about 4-1/2 hours roundtrip.

We had to reschedule our hike day..due to the Kona low and the office staff were more than helpful…read more This is not our first hike with Hike Maui... we've come to Maui for the past 50 years..37 times to be exact... and Hike Maui is our go to during the past 20 years when we want to get out into the rainforest. We have taken three of their "Morning Walks" with our grandkids and it's a perfect introduction to hiking. Honestly we've had three different ...wonderful.. experiences. It's not strenuous and you're taken back to some private land that you'd not have access to if you just drove up and parked (if you found a parking spot) and hiked back in. We were lucky to have the lovely, fun, and knowledgeable guide named Randolyn ..aka Ran. She was the perfect blend of kind, patient and engaging with the grandkids, and very helpful with us old folks! On the drive on the way home she advised a few newbies to the island where some great places to eat were... they greatly appreciated her ideas! She had the most pleasant demeanor.... :) If you want a fun morning walk, call Hike Maui

I would give 10 stars if I had the choice…read more This was an easy Rainforest walk package with a little adventure of diving and swimming in the water added in, if you wanted to that is - no force. Brian was just soo fun, and soo informative. He balanced all our interests absolutely wonderfully, it was just amazing. The kid was thrilled with the his dino costume (Oh my god! the costume, he wore it on the Entire trip except when jumping off the rocks ofcourse), the adult in the other group with all the geological tectonics knowledge that flowed like an uninterrupted volcano from his mouth...non stop, and me with all the native plant life info. The Hala tree amazed me and so did the big red flower- torch ginger, which actually looks like a vibrant staff fit for a king. I would never have learnt about them in detail if not for this trip. All this besides the actual trip to the waterfalls, the encouragement he gave to the other group was astounding (I don't swim myself unfortunately, or the fun would have tripled for me). He supported, guided, advised, and made them have the time of their life with the diving and the swimming. Three cheers to the B.Rex. Hike Maui site itself had useful info for the walk and I brought the water shoes after reading about it on their site, it really worked great out there. Pick up was right on time and the directions were pretty clear, but u could have mentioned near Kahului Park and Ride, I mistook the 8 min drive for 8 min walk, and walked up from my hotel ! Hike Maui arranged for backpacks and that was very useful too. To just it throw it on our shoulders and walk freely. The little snacks were good after the walk. The best part was the passion fruit which was handed out as a parting gift. It was my first time to eat that fruit too. Note: The waterfalls are accessible privately with rental car too. You could explore the area in your own sweet time. But I did notice there were not many signs with specific directions inside the forest. And no labels on the plants. Most places no mobile signals either. That said, you could do it on your own. I cannot say enough about this trip. It is for all ages and a great little Maui to explore comfortably. PS: Hope Brian wins the Halloween costume contest today ( 31st Oct 2025)

All the books and sites I checked on Maui said that Kapalua resort had a ton of hiking and lots of…read moretrails. My husband said I should have been wary that I hadn't found any reviews, just the comment that there were over "100 miles of trails." That's because that literally IS the only selling point. Still, this was the closest hiking to our hotel in Lahaina so we decided to try it. You head over to Honolua village (where you go to start the ziplining) and there is a free shuttle offered at 4 times throughout the day. If you miss it you have to wait as you aren't able to just walk to the trailhead. They were out of maps that day (freaky!) so we bought an iphone app online and looked at their maps on the wall. We also had to sign a waiver. After a 15 minute drive you arrive at the arboretum. At first there are fun flowers and plants, beautiful vistas and views and you feel a bit like you're in LOST as the trails aren't totally clear and you have to tread lightly through the tall weeds. However, once you are in there for a good hour there isn't much else to see. There are no birds, no frogs, no random unnameable bugs...It's the same thing over and over again. It gets very very rainy and wet (it's a rainforest but again, no wildlife). It gets cold and dark. The weeds become tall painful over-grown beasts that slice your legs as you try and walk. You find yourself walking on trails that run right next to roads. You see plastic from the vegetation that was installed! There is hardly any wildlife whatsoever. We saw far more of that on the hiking we did off the Road to Hana. We didn't want to sit around waiting for the shuttle which was so many hours out so we opted to take the trail that gets you back to where you parked your car. It was about 8 miles and we did it fast because we were super bored. If you do go, it's definitely good for the workout! I was sore the next day. Oh and fair warning...the ground is orange clay so definitely best to wear hiking boots, my sneakers are still red and they were soaked! Truly, I think there's better hiking elsewhere! One local told us a place called Swinging Bridges that is supposed to be amazing...Think it's on private property but maybe worth checking out! Definitely a miss! I am kinda pissed at my fodor's book for even mentioning it. I had to concede my husband a "told you so" and I really hate that most of all!

We did the 8-mile Arboretum to Mahana Ridge Trail and it was the best hike we've ever done in…read moreHawaii! A bit about us: we love the rain, bush whacking, overgrown trails and the challenge of figuring out if we're on the right trail or not. And getting muddy is part of the fun. So if you like all of that, you will love this hike. Note that it is WET and muddy at the top of the hike, so it's slippery in some parts. The abundance of fruit trees was pretty amazing - we were eating guava and lilikoi for the first couple of miles, it was hard to keep walking because we kept finding more fruit to eat. Further down, we found pineapples growing in the wild, how cool is that? The views were outstanding in some parts, and as we descended we kept entering different micro-climates which meant different plant life in each stage (did I mention that we are botanists at heart?). The smell of eucalyptus trees and seeing the huge banyan trees totally makes this hike. About 3/4 of this hike is under shady forest. I will mention that the last mile was the part I didn't like because all of a sudden we lost our shade and hiked in the blasting sun through the golf course, but we still had great views of the ocean. We took a right instead of a left at the overpass and ended up at DT Fleming beach, which isn't all bad because a dip in the ocean is just what we needed. Even though it's mostly downhill, this hike is a bit of a workout. Highly recommended for people who love to hike and don't mind getting dirty. We used the Kapalua free shuttle in the morning and this service is great (must call to reserve, we called at 8:45am and got on the 9:30am shuttle). Make sure to tip the driver!

The Kapalua Coastal Trail is a beautiful little path along the west side of Maui. There are…read morenumerous meanderings of the trail to take you to hidden gems including olivine pools, heart rocks, coastal views, nesting birds, etc. there is a labyrinth to the north end Napili Bay to the south. It is an easy walk which can be started and stopped in numerous locations depending upon one's interests and exploration inclinations.

I loved being right next to the access of this trail. I could walk this every day at any time of…read morethe day. Having the beach as your view makes the walk/hike even more enjoyable. Walking one way leads you to Kapalua Bay and walking the other way leads you to D.T. Fleming Park (Beach).

6/18-7/1/2021: Thankfully, the Maui Bus #28 will take you through the Town Of Kapulua hiking these…read moremajestic, scenic trails and exploring the Uber-posh neighborhoods' front yards, i.e., panoramic, ocean vistas. It felt rather odd passing by these stunning homes' backyards which connects via their gate access easements to the trails and beaches below where you can literally peer through their windows~Kinda creepy, IMHO~LOL! Anyway, hobbling along the trails, the elegantly appointed, well designed, trex-decking pathways were built in order, preventing land erosion from foot traffic and surely compliments the landscape rather than detracting the beautiful, ocean vistas. In addition, the Town Of Kapulua has built massive, mansion estates and exclusive enclaves encapsulating the ocean shorelines; however, there are small parking lots dotting along the Upper and Lower Honopiilani Street where Hikers may park their vehicles accessing the trails heading towards the beaches via a trail access pathway donned with showers built before heading to your vehicle.

We had the BEST experience with Demian. We visited Maui for our honeymoon and had about 8 hours to…read moreexplore as much as we could, and Demian created the perfect itinerary for us to see the most beautiful sites. Just tell him what you're interested in, and he will know exactly what to do! It can be super adventurous or very laid back with zero hiking yet beautiful sites. I highly highly recommend Demian.

Damian was an excellent guide on our two day Road to Hana tour. He was very knowledgable and…read morehelpful in making recommendations. His customer service was impeccable as he was accommodating to our needs. He answered all of our questions. We would never have seen so many beautiful places without his guidance. Damian shared knowledge of cultural significance, flora and fauna, and modern information as well. His attention to detail in pointing out small otherwise missed gems was amazing. He knew and shared many hidden gems. This tour was reasonably priced for all of the personal attention we received. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND this tour!

Despite several trips worth of explorations to guidebook suggested spots throughout Maui, this is…read moreone of my favorite places that I've come across and this one by chance. After following the Kapalua coastal trail around the north side of the Montage resort, we found a dirt trail through the coastal grass that wraps around to Namalu Bay. This spot is commonly referred to as "Cliff House" due to the actual Cliff House which is an event venue, available for rent, that overlooks the Bay from a cliff above. The trail to Namalu Bay offers spectacular views of gorgeous ocean and rock pools created from old lava flow. Once at the Bay itself, you will experience abnormally clear water that is a mixture of stunning shades of blues and greens. There is no beach here and the amount of open space to just hangout is somewhat limited and on rocks or a few concrete slabs remnant of some previous man made structure of sorts. Despite some limitations, just the view only makes it worth it for me. The real draw however is the opportunity to do some cliff diving and swimming in the bay. The trek down to the water from the cliffs really isn't bad at all. There are a series of steps that have been created in the rocks, several wide ledges where you can step aside and a very helpful ladder at the bottom for access in and out of the water. The water is very deep and for the most part clear of any subsurface obstacles making for several optimal spots for diving. The dive spots I saw range from as little as an 8' or so dive upwards to probably the 30' or so range. Just remember to checkout any potential dive spot for yourself to assess any potential risks. The water itself is clear and during my visits, remained calm to to the fact that it's a protected bay with a landmass wrapping well around three sides. It is a very idealistic place for swimming, relaxing in the water and enjoying the views. While the snorkeling provided great views overall, I only saw a handful of small and unmemorable fish during the 10-15 minutes I spent. I'm sure writing a review does not help, but the fact that this spot was not crowded (weekend or weekday) was another big plus. I would say the range was five to fifteen people here at any given time during my visits.

This is actually the walk through to Honolua Bay, a private protected environment, where there is…read moreexcellent snorkelling for all the family (Take floaties for those unable to swim far) with turtles, lots of fish including some bigger types, the odd reef shark and barracuda, beautiful coral heads, moray eels and a bait ball usually further out in the middle of the bay. Just make sure snorkeling conditions are good, it turns into a surf beach over winter. Sign up for the Maui Snorkel Report so you receive a daily email with conditions; https://thesnorkelstore.com/maui-snorkeling-conditions-reports/ Make sure you read the signs and follow their requests, reef safe sunscreen only, no chasing chickens, no annoying the reef life or touching coral, use the porta potty, and don't go off into the trees as there are graves there from a tsunami and it is taboo. Also park front end into the main parking area so you can fit more cars in. Take photos of the flora and fauna without disturbing it (look for mushrooms on the fallen logs, flowers in the canopy, chickens roosting in the trees, and butterflies), and take some cash to donate in the box at the end to the owner who keeps this amazing piece of nature open to the public. Respect it and keep it pristine for all to enjoy.

Magical place! Wouldn't recommend going here to spend the day in the water but it does make a short…read morebeautiful hike on private land. There are portapotties at the entrance. Be respectful of the land and leave the chickens alone. We had planned to snorkel but it's all rocks from land to water and the weather wasn't super sunny and the water was not clear. It's known to be a great spot to snorkel on clear days but not a family friendly spot to hang out and go swimming if you have kids.