Maui Bike Tours

A popular Maui tour option is to take a bike ride down the Haleakala volcano. Early birds can get to the summit of Haleakala in time to see the sunrise, then proceed down the mountain.

Some Maui bike tours start at the top of the volcano and end at the ocean beach. Worried that you don't have the stamina? Just read my favorite couch potato advertisement...

bike 38 miles down the world's largest dormant volcano with only 400 yards of actual pedaling

On the other hand, this is not the place to learn how to ride a bicycle on your Maui family vacation. There is a good deal of steering and braking and speed involved (an upcountry citizens group says that the local hospital admits one person that was biking down Haleakala every other day).

Most of the bike tour companies have a minimum age requirement. There are a wide variety of duration and distance options offered, so be sure to select one that matches your comfort zone.

Some 19 bicycle tour businesses operate on Haleakala, attracting an estimated 79,000 riders in 2005, according to park officials.

As we drove up Haleakala, we passed large groups of bikers coasting down the mountain. Most bikers looked like they were in total control as they cruised along. But some displayed what looked like mild terror as they hurtled down the winding mountain road at the upper reaches of their personal speed limit. Biking down Haleakala is the perfect adrenaline pumping activity for teenage boys.

Maui Bike Tour Videos

The Maui bike tour video below provides a overview of the bike ride down Haleakala. It's long (nine minutes), but worth the time if you are considering this bike tour. You get a good perspective of the skill, speed, and turning that is involved. The photographer is an experienced biker, and is wearing a camera on his helmet (you can see the shadow image of the camera on the pavement when the photographer is at the high sunny part of the volcano).

To view the video, click on the PLAY button in the image below There is no sound with this video.

This next video shows an trail bike ride down Haleakala - no worries about traffic on these narrow trails.

How about pedaling 10,000 feet UP Haleakala on a bicycle? The bike tour video below compresses seven hours into nine minutes.

This next Maui bike tour video is a ride down the backside of Haleakala on the Kaupo Trail Road. The bikers description of his video:

This is a mountain bike helmet cam video of the Kaupo Trail Road descent on Maui. The road is near the Kaupo Gap on the Haleakala volcano. We start where the hiking trail begins at the top of the road, and we descend to the intersection near the Kaupo Store and then head east towards Kipahulu. There are great views of the Big Island and some glimpses of Kaupo Gap at the top. It's about a 1000 foot vertical drop, and it's quite fast and bumpy. It's an interesting downhill that varies between dirt, gravel, patchwork pavement, and smooth asphalt. The climb to the top is quite doable, and the grade is steady the entire way. There isn't much traffic on this road, but please watch for animals, horses, people, and vehicles if you decide to come down it fast. This one of my favorite short off-road rides when I'm in the Kaupo or Kipahulu area.

Return to Maui Tours from Maui Bike Tours