Road to Hana Guide:

Road to Hana Best Stops -> Hana town ->

Past Hana -> Backside Haleakala

Road to Hana Via Haleakala

The Road to Hana along the backside of the Maui Volcano Haleakala includes Kaupo Gap, Huakini Bay, and Pokowai Sea Arch.

NOTE: If you are looking for the part of Haleakala National Park that extends down to the Road to Hana, visit my Oheo Gulch - Seven Sacred Pools page.

Kaupo Gap

As you continue driving, you are now entering the southwest dry side of Haleakala, and the landscape changes dramatically. The Haleakala Kaupo Gap was like a painting that surrounded us wherever we looked.

When we pulled over at the Kaupo Gap Lookout (Mile Marker 32.4), we felt like we were in the middle of a painting that wrapped all around us.

Looking up toward Haleakala, you can see the Kaupo canyon, whose unique beauty is because it was originally carved out by erosion, then filled with lava.

The wind is strong in this narrow canyon.

Huakini Bay

At Huakini Bay, the waves make eerie sounds as they move through the rocks on the beach. We spent about 30 minutes climbing around on the blue rock beach at Huakini Bay (close to mile marker 30).

Besides the unusual visual of the blue grey rocks seeming to spread on forever, this beach has a unique feature.

The sound of the waves passing through the rocks makes an erie, hollow boinging sound.

Pokowai Sea Arch

Erin explores the Pokowai sea arch on the south Maui coast below Haleakala.

The Pokowai Sea Arch juts out to the sea at Mile Marker 29.

We pulled off the road close to the arch, climbed down to the shore and explored the solid lava that still seems to flow into the ocean.

See the hole in the rear lava flow?

That is the arch that was formed when hot lava collided with cold ocean.

Frankos Maui Road to Hana Haleakala Map

If you look along the yellow line demarking the Piilani Highway at the bottom of the map below, you can see the three stops highlighted on this page - Pokowai Sea Arch, Huakini Bay, and Kaupo.

Frankos Maui Map includes the Haleakala backside of the Road to Hana


This small section of a Franko Maui map gives you a good orientation of the Road to Hana.

If you are going to spend a day on the road to Hana, visit their website for the folded version of the Maui map ($6) - it's an inexpensive investment to help make your Maui vacation a good one.

Getting There

If you drive south on Highway 37 past Haleakala and on to Highway 31, you will be rewarded with stunning views and beaches as you travel between the south mountainside of Haleakala and the southern shores of Maui.

Highway 37 is smooth blacktop, and Highway 31 finally becomes patched blacktop for a few miles, then graded gravel for about five miles. The road is a super highway compared to what we experienced on this same road 20 years ago, when we slowly bumped along in a jeep.

Road to Hana Highway Road REOPENED

October 2008 Update - The Piilani Highway has been REOPENED so you can now once again continue on around the island during your Road to Hana trip.

This road was closed after the October 2006 earthquake in the channel between east Maui and the Big Island due to potential rock slides.

Road to Hana Haleakala Videos

The Road to Hana Halekala Backside video below includes the backside of the Maui volcano Haleakala, Huakini Bay, the Pokowai Sea Arch, and Kaupo Gap. Lots of wind and waves.

Click on the PLAY button in the image below to view the video.



The next video below is only 30 seconds long, but it effectively communicates the excitement and fear some riders may experience during the short section of the road that is one lane along steep cliffs.



Return to Road to Hana from Road to Hana Haleakala.


View Maui Luau Guide

Road to Hana Tours

If you want someone else to drive on a road to Hana tour, you have several options.

Several tours go
all around the road to Hana
past Oheo Gulch, along the single lane unpaved stretch of bumpy road hugging the cliffs, that most vacationers decline to travel in their rental cars, and then continue along the backside of Haleakala to the upcountry:

• Hidden Hawaii Tours

• Valley Isle Excursions is a luxury tour - customized high roof large window 12 person vans, large captain's chairs, and a lunch served with silverware and linens.

• Roberts Hawaii is a large value priced company and works with several cruise lines.

Some tour companies
turn around in the Hana area
and redrive the road to Hana on the return trip, giving you a second view of the sights during a different time of the day:

• Temptation Tours includes a breakfast and beachside lunch, then turnaround at Hana and stop at windsurfing Hookipa Beach on you return trip.

• Polynesian Adventures


Red Maui 2057

Or call 877-489-3054
to talk to a Road to Hana
expert on Maui right now

Tell them Randy Willis recommended that you ask about their low price guarantee.
Barefoot Tours - Road to Hana