Maalaea Yacht Marina
The drive around West Maui Mountain
   
Sunset on the beach  
   
Top of Haleakala  
   
  Maui -- Scenic Areas
  Haleakala, "House of the Sun," is the large, dormant volcano dominating Maui's east side. Hiking in Haleakala is something very special. You can go for great long hikes, but a five mile hike on Sliding Sands trail to the cinder cone crater of Ka Lu'u o 'O'o takes you through beautiful multicolor cinder rock, around huge boulders, past the native and endangered Silversword plant all in about 3 hours, give or take your condition and pace. You can get a map at the Visitor Center at the top and they have an interesting topo map to look at, but take note that they close at 3pm. Just hiking for half and hour on Sliding Sands trail will put you in mind of a different world, maybe the moon, or Mars. By the way, the trail is good and the sands do not slide under your feet. But it is steep and as you descend remember you have to go back up. Allow a bit more time to go back than the descent. If the clouds favor you, it's a thrill to see Hawaii, the Big Island, across the ocean from the top of Haleakala. If you plan to go on hikes in rough country or up on Haleakala, sports shoes are a good idea. And if you plan to be on Haleakala early or late (for those famous views of sunrise or sunset, especially good if there are clouds to catch the color), be sure!!! to have long pants, long sleeves, a jacket or coat and anything else you like to keep yourself warm. Someone said, "just bring everything you have with you", and if the wind is blowing, you'll wish you did. Remember, you won't be at sea level; you'll be about 2 miles in the air.

There is also lots of fun hiking on the road to Hana. You'll enjoy the drive so much more if you stop to wander back on a few trails and turn on some side roads just for the jungly adventure of it all ( take some mosquito repellant). There are some fun hikes to waterfalls along this side of the island, but you'll want a fine day for it. One of the days we went the forecast was for a "few windward showers" so I kept thinking it would clear up, but it poured rain all day. No disaster - the waterfalls were full of energy and the huge jungle leaves and vines glistened in the wet, but we didn't hike as much as we would have. There are more ideas about things to do in the guest book in the condo.

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