It's probably voted in the top few most scenic drives in the USA more often than any other beautiful drive. Hawai'i State Highway 360 takes you to Maui's eastern shore and eventually the town of Hana after a million twists, turns, and one-lane bridges (ok, only 59 of those.)
It's a must-do for your first trip to the island. If you're not a huge fan of scenic car rides, it may be the only time you go! It's one of those drives where you have to keep reminding yourself that the point of the journey really isn't to arrive; it's to get there. It's technically a 3 hour drive, but you should plan for it to take 5 hours. Go slow, stop frequently, hike to a waterfall or two (or 10) and enjoy the lush tropical scenery. Don't fret if it's raining once you start; there will be a bunch of rain showers along the way. You can pretty much count on a little rain. The north shore of Maui gets about 400 inches of rain per year, without which the drive wouldn't be as spectacular, nor, of course, would the waterfalls.
You used to be able to continue past Hana, around the southeastern part of the island, but in 2006, there was a strong earthquake and the road no longer goes through. Still, highly recommended is South Waimea Falls and the Seven Sacred Pools in Oheo (aka Oheo Gulch). These sights are worth the time it takes to get there even if your only option is to turn around and retrace the whole trip to get home. So plan to spend the whole day doing this. I didn't make it that far this time, but I have a few pics from the 1995 trip that are worth posting.
This last one from '95 is kind of out of order. It's back on the north shore, just past Kahului. Since we went in December, the surf was totally bitchin', tubular even, as you can see here.
Back to the road: there are many travel books full of Road to Hana wonderment, (like this one), and there's also a place in Kahului where you can buy a CD or cassette that narrates the whole drive and points out some of the things you'd miss otherwise. If you don't want to deal with that, just stop every time you see other cars parked along the road, and you'll be sure to find something to see.
One last place I want to mention is the Ke'anae Arboretum. It's about a half-mile paved trail along a small mountain stream that takes you through a showcase of tropical flora from all over the world. If you're into tropical plants at all, then you have to stop here and take a little walk; it's a nice break from the car drive. The different species are identified by markers. I found it really interesting and extremely relaxing. The web sites remind you to bring insect repellent, and although I found myself in clouds of mosquitoes through much of the walk, they didn't feast on me like I thought they would. I did find myself reflexively rubbing my arms and legs pretty constantly to keep them off... When I got back to the car, I only had one or two mosquito bites. Yay Hawai'i! Even the bugs are nice.
It's a must-do for your first trip to the island. If you're not a huge fan of scenic car rides, it may be the only time you go! It's one of those drives where you have to keep reminding yourself that the point of the journey really isn't to arrive; it's to get there. It's technically a 3 hour drive, but you should plan for it to take 5 hours. Go slow, stop frequently, hike to a waterfall or two (or 10) and enjoy the lush tropical scenery. Don't fret if it's raining once you start; there will be a bunch of rain showers along the way. You can pretty much count on a little rain. The north shore of Maui gets about 400 inches of rain per year, without which the drive wouldn't be as spectacular, nor, of course, would the waterfalls.
You used to be able to continue past Hana, around the southeastern part of the island, but in 2006, there was a strong earthquake and the road no longer goes through. Still, highly recommended is South Waimea Falls and the Seven Sacred Pools in Oheo (aka Oheo Gulch). These sights are worth the time it takes to get there even if your only option is to turn around and retrace the whole trip to get home. So plan to spend the whole day doing this. I didn't make it that far this time, but I have a few pics from the 1995 trip that are worth posting.
This last one from '95 is kind of out of order. It's back on the north shore, just past Kahului. Since we went in December, the surf was totally bitchin', tubular even, as you can see here.
Back to the road: there are many travel books full of Road to Hana wonderment, (like this one), and there's also a place in Kahului where you can buy a CD or cassette that narrates the whole drive and points out some of the things you'd miss otherwise. If you don't want to deal with that, just stop every time you see other cars parked along the road, and you'll be sure to find something to see.
One last place I want to mention is the Ke'anae Arboretum. It's about a half-mile paved trail along a small mountain stream that takes you through a showcase of tropical flora from all over the world. If you're into tropical plants at all, then you have to stop here and take a little walk; it's a nice break from the car drive. The different species are identified by markers. I found it really interesting and extremely relaxing. The web sites remind you to bring insect repellent, and although I found myself in clouds of mosquitoes through much of the walk, they didn't feast on me like I thought they would. I did find myself reflexively rubbing my arms and legs pretty constantly to keep them off... When I got back to the car, I only had one or two mosquito bites. Yay Hawai'i! Even the bugs are nice.
