Best hike in Maui

We will be in Lahania aboard a cruise ship for 2 days. What is the best hiking from the port. We will have a rental car.

A few that we've enjoyed: Waihee Ridge Trail, Pipiwai Trail (at O'heo Gulch - past Hana), Kapalua Coastal Trail (more of a walk than a hike, but very scenic as it follows the coast), Kapalua Village Trail, Sliding Sands to Halemau'u on Haleakala (that one is a long one, but you could just do a portion of Sliding Sands if you're going to the summit of Haleakala.)

It's difficult to say which one is the best without knowing what you are looking for in the way of length, difficulty, how far you want to drive. Will you have hiking shoes & poles, or are you looking for something more casual/easy.

Our best on Maui was the Sliding Sands to Halemau'u, but all that I've mentioned were definitely worth doing.

Really want to do pipiwai but I think it may be too far from Lahania port. We are looking for a hike med to hard and about 5-7 miles round trip,

To do the Road to Hana and include the Pipiwai Trail is about a 12 hour day - slightly less if you didn't make a few sightseeing stops along the way there or back. And if I remember from your previous posts, you're not able to get an early start on your first day (6:30 - 7 a.m. would be ideal) - so it's probably not going to work on this trip.

I think Waihee Ridge would be a good choice, but probably on your 2nd day when you can get an early start. If you can get to the trailhead by 8 you'll have a better chance of clear skies (clouds tend to move in around mid-late morning.) It's under 5 miles (an in/out hike, so about 2.5 each way) - the elevation gain gives your legs a good workout (I was glad that I had hiking poles for that hike, but the majority of people that we saw didn't have them.) Hiking shoes would be a real plus on that trail though - too much of a risk without them, especially if the trail is wet. It's about a one hour drive from Lahaina - here's the route.

You will NOT be hiking on the Road to Hana...it's a full-day's drive!

Io is gorgeous....if you have time, that's where I'd go! You can circumnavigate the island by car in one day...it's not that big!

You will NOT be hiking on the Road to Hana...it's a full-day's drive!

 

Io is gorgeous....if you have time, that's where I'd go! You can circumnavigate the island by car in one day...it's not that big!

You can hike the Pipiwai Trail and do the drive from Lahaina and back in one day, but not with a 9 or 10 a.m. start, if you plan to get off the RTH before dark.

Agree that Iao Valley is very scenic ... but there isn't any hiking there ... just a paved trail. Well, there is a dirt trail, but you have to climb over a railing to access it and it's not the most interesting trail.

I wouldn't recommend circumnavigating the island to others ... there are some roads (Kahekili Hwy and south side of Haleakala) that are very narrow (less than 2 car widths across), winding, and have blind curves. Some people are OK with it, others aren't comfortable on those roads.