On Monday took my wife to Iao Valley state Monument park. Luckily I did on an over cast day because…read morewe seen beautiful water falls . The river down below was very strong and rough I've been here while it was a sunny day and you can actually go down to the river bed . What a sacred place you just feel the power of ancient Hawaiian soldiers fighting in this Valley . When I was a kid that mountain peak called a Iao needle used to have a little hole on top of that peak . Just like a needle point where you thread it through the needle hole. Very relaxing Valley away from all the stress in life which I really need . Support local

Took my 97 yr old disabled mom to be told we had to first go on line, see if the reservation was…read moreavailable, then pay 40 dollars to be in the parking lot. Not willing to pay, and wished to turn around, was told keep my eyes off the scenery, no photos, no stopping, and move quickly. It will be a cold day in hexx before I visit again. There is no way I could even have made a reservation without a data plan.

This is a pretty easy hike with great payoff! It only takes about 2 hours, and you get to hike over…read morea couple of bridges, through a bamboo forest, and end up at a gorgeous waterfall! I'm an athletic kinda girl, and I would say this trail is maybe a 2/5 in terms of difficulty. (I'd give it a 1, but it has some incline, so I gave it a 2.) My boyfriend is a homebody and rarely hikes, and he gave it a 3/5 in terms of difficulty. One thing to note: The drive to get here is a DOOZY. I did thee Road to Hana the last time I was in Maui, and it freaked me out so much that we tried going around the south side of the island this time. That was also very scary. Unless you are prepared for very narrow roads (I'm talking one lane with traffic going both ways) on a cliff, sometimes with drops straight into the ocean, don't do it. If you are okay with that, do the Road to Hana for the more scenic drive. The southern drive was less scenic, and probably just as scary.

Came back here 5 years after I went the 1st time and brought my 9 year old. He made it to the end…read moreand back. The trail didn't seem as magical, maintained or green as I remember the 1st time. Maybe a different time of year? More mosquitoes as well. Still, it was pleasant and glad we went. We saw a lot of people bringing infants in carriers and really small kids. This is a serious hike. I would say maybe 7 + in age if you are bringing kids. You may make it part of the way, but it will take you an hour to get to the bamboo forest at least and there are a lot of weird wide steps. Bring water, snacks, hiking stick and bug spray.

I absolutely love Camp Olowalu! I've stayed here multiple times, and it's one of those places I'm…read morealways happy to come back to. They have regular camping sites and Tentalows, but I've been lucky enough to stay in one of the cabins tucked away in a private are. it's such a special experience and so peaceful. I am obsessed with the private outdoor showers. There is seriously nothing better than taking a shower outside while looking up at the beautiful Maui sky. Everything here is always clean, and well-maintained. Tim, the on-site manager, is awesome and always incredibly helpful. As is all the camp staff. If you love camping, being outdoors, and having a beautiful, relaxing place to disconnect, Camp Olowalu is absolutely worth checking out. It reminds me of how lucky I am to be on Maui. I'll definitely keep coming back!

I did NOT feel safe. There was a group of people and two of the men were up late after their…read morefamilies went to bed and harassed me in my tent by yelling and screaming into the tent at midnight and tried to open our tent and come in while I was sleeping. NOT safe for women or solo travelers. Management did nothing when we informed them.

I've been to quite a few black sand beaches around the world, and this one is a pretty special…read moreexperience, especially because you can actually get into the water and swim while surrounded by such a different landscape. The black sand beach is definitely the highlight of the park, although don't go in expecting that super fine, soft black sand you may be imagining. Here it's much more like little black stones and rocks. Honestly, I'm okay with that because I've been to one with the super fine black sand and it was a nightmare . Imagine regular sand getting absolutely everywhere and then make it black... everything looks dirty! The waves can be pretty strong, so come prepared for that if you want to swim. There are also quite a few other things to see and explore throughout the state park, so I wouldn't just come for the beach and leave. One important thing to know is that you now need a reservation to enter the park, so don't just show up expecting to walk in or you'll be turned away. It's also right along the Road to Hana, so getting here is part of the whole experience.

Wow! Such a beautiful place. You must make reservations online. The black sand beach is stunning…read more The waves were very rough the day we were there but we still got in the water for a little while. Make sure to take the trail above the water to get a beautiful view of the waves crashing on the rocks and of the beach. Bring water shoes or your feet will get cut up.

Hands-down, the best hike I have ever went on in my life and I have been on plenty of hikes…read more There's a waterfall somewhere along the way and there are beautiful views of the ocean and beaches all around. Gorgeous is an understatement, but please make sure to bring plenty of water and sunscreen. You will need it. Enjoy!

One of my fave hikes, if you can get through the first 150 feet of vertical incline from the…read moreparking lot, well worth it. And I live in SoCal and get to do some pretty awesome hikes here. It was my type of hike, a bit of jungle, epic views of the water, the hike to the top was worth it when you have those insane views along the way...

Totally go for the sunset or sunrise! It was amazing! Not sure how we haven't heard about it…read morebefore. Pictures don't do it justice. Make sure you go early or you want get a spot on the summit, pack some food and be prepared to wait. It's also cold! We had light jackets which weren't really enough with the wind.

In the Summit District, the 11.7 mile point-to-point Sliding Sands to Halemau'u Thru Hike is…read moreincredible--plan ahead to have someone pick you up on the other side. For the first 2/3, it's all downhill and makes for a great trail run. The way up is strenuous, but manageably short and most definitely worth it. Incredible views and you literally get to be above the clouds. Would highly recommend this hike when visiting this area of the park.

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!

Pua'a Ka'a Falls is located on the Road to Hana and offers a small waterfall. They have a decent…read moreamount of parking and restrooms although they weren't the cleanest or nicest. There were covered tables which make for a good stop to eat and rest. You can view the waterfall from further up or you can go past the rocks to get closer. We saw some people diving into the water although there were signs saying it wasn't allowed.

Definitely a good stop to stop at during your road to Hana trip. There are 2 falls, a small and…read morelarge one. We parked and immediately headed for the small one as not many people go to this one and it's easier to get to. The water feels amazing. There's bathrooms available but bring hand sanitizer as none of the bathrooms on the road to Hana have soap!