Long Description:
CORAL GARDEN - MAUI, HAWAII
view from Lahaina Pali Trail
This waymark is for the western trailhead, where there is shaded, dirt parking. A fairly steep climb of 10-15 minutes will reward you with spectacular views of the cost to the west, with a noted snorkeling destination below called the "Coral Garden." It is most often accessed by boat, boat but can also be reached from a beach just north of this trailhead where sea turtles are often encountered. The trail continues for another five miles.
Most of this trail follows the course of the old Lahaina Highway with some of the original pavement intact in places. It gives one a feel for what transportation was like here earlier in the 20th century. This was also probably an older historic route on the island.
ON FOOT . . . BY HORSE . . .
In prehistoric times, travellers from Olowalu walked along the shoreline to this spot and then had to choose whether to swim around the sea cliffs, find a friendly neighbor with a canoe, or climb over Kealalolon Ridge to get to Ma'alaea. In missionary times, a road was build across these steep slopes and travellers on foot or horseback could make the journey in four or five hours. The 20th century brought first carriages and then cars. The trail became a road and then a highway.
. . . THEN CARRIAGES AND CARS
Under the shade of these kiawe trees are the remains of the first carriage road. It was built with prison labor around the turn-of-the-century, and over the next 20 years, was widened and straightened to accommodate motor vehicles. Parts of this original road continued to be used until 1951. You can see segments of older alignments that were abandoned or covered over by newer ones. At the base of the high stone facing, you can see the outlet to a culvert that released water from the stream on the other side of the road.
Travel between Olowalu and Ma'alaea has not always been a simple 15 minute drive along a two-lane highway.
From this spot, you can see how travel along this coast has changed. Look behind to the ocean and you see the route of long-ago Hawaiians. Look ahead and see the stone walls and culverts from the early 1900's. Turn around and feel the cars whizzing by on the Honoapillani Highway, built in 1951.
WELCOME TO THE LAHAINA PALI TRAIL
Follow in the footsteps of travellers from over a century ago. Built for horseback and foot travel between Wailuku and Lahaina, the Lahaina Pali Trail was the direct route across the steep southern slopes of West Maui Mountain. It was hand-built along the steep, sometimes treacherous hillsides.
The trail is five miles long and climbs to over 1,600 feet above see level. Along this trail, you will see native plants like a'ali'i (Dodonaea viscosa), wiliwili trees (Erythrinia sandwicensis), and a native dryland sandalwood (Santalum ellipticum).
Petroglyphs, stone walls, and rocky outcrops mark the spots where long ago travellers stopped to rest. The mid-point of the trail is Kealalola Ridge, the southern rift zone of the volcano that formed West Maui. Pu'u (cinder hills) and natural cuts in the ridgeline expose the dramatic geologic history of this part of Maui.
The Lahiana Pali Trail has been restored and is maintained with volunteer assistance by the Na Ala Hele Statewide Trail and Access Program, State Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW).
Trail guides with more information on the cultural and natural history of the trail can be obtained at DOFAW, 54 South High Street, Wailuku, at retail stores at Ma'alaea, and many outdoor recreation outlets.
The Lahaina Pali Trail is a historic roadway. Damage to the trail or any archaeological sites alont the trail is subject to penalties, as defined in Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 6.F.11.
PLEASE CARE FO THIS CULTURAL RESOURCE
WARNING: EXTREME FIRE HAZARD DURING DRY PERIODS.
Below from
Hawaii Trails
Trail runs from a point near Maalaea Harbor with refreshment stands and restrooms, over a ridge and down to a long, sandy beach with snorkeling, surfing and picnicking facilities. Ranging in elevation from 100` to 1,600`, the trail offers excellent scenic vistas of Kahoolawe and Lanai islands. Whales can be observed during the winter months. Scrub vegetation at the lower elevations gives way to endemic dry-land plants as the trail climbs. The Old Lahaina Trail is part of the historic around-the-island trail system on Maui.
Directions: Both trail heads are accessible from Honoapiilani Highway (30). The eastern trail head lies 0.2 miles south of the junction of Honoapiilani Highway (30) and Kihei Road (31). The western trail head lies 10 miles south of Lahaina and 3 miles west of Maalaea Harbor. The parking area is accessible from Highway 30 at Manawaipueo Gulch about 0.25 mile north of the Pali tunnel.
