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Road to Hana Guide: Road to Hana Via HaleakalaThe 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 GapAs you continue driving, you are now entering the southwest dry side of Haleakala, and the landscape changes dramatically.
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
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
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 MapIf 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.
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 ThereIf 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 REOPENEDOctober 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 VideosThe 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.
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My Road to Hana Pages
Road to Hana Overview
Road to Hana Guide
...Road to Hana Best Stops
...town of Hana
...past Hana at Seven Sacred Pools
...past Pools on Piilani Highway
Road to Hana Beaches
Maui black sand beach
Hana beaches
Planning & Options
Drive the road to Hana?
Or take a road to Hana tour?
Road to Hana Waterfalls
Watch and View
Road to Hana videos
Road to Hana maps
Road to Hana pictures
Road to Hana Tours
If you want someone else to drive on a road to Hana tour, you have several options:
• Temptation Tours includes a breakfast and beachside lunch, road to Hana stops at waterfalls and beaches, then turnaround at Hana and stop at windsurfing Hookipa Beach on you return trip.
• 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 includes a box lunch and a trip all around the road to Hana and beyond. Roberts Hawaii is a value priced company and works with several cruise lines.
If you want to talk to someone right now on Maui about a road to Hana tour, call Barefoot Tours toll free 877-489-3054 (they are on Hawaii time). 
Even if you are on Maui or Hawaii now, or soon will be, they can get your tickets to you by email, fax, mail, or even delivered to the Road to Hana tour operator for last minute ticket reservations.
Tell them Randy Willis sent you and recommended that you ask about their low price guarantee.
I have several free Road to Hana Maui maps on these web pages that you can print and take with you to Maui.
If you want a traditional folded Maui map, I recommend purchasing the folded version of the Frankos Maui map ($6) to give you a good orientation of the Road to Hana.
What makes Frankos maps unique? Descriptions and tips are written right on the map.
So you don't have to read about a destination in a Maui book, then locate that destination on a map.
It's like you scribbled your own personal vacation notes all over your own personal map.
Franko also has a laminated Maui map (great to use as a placemat at home or during your Maui vacation), folded and laminated Maui dive and snorkel maps, and a 6"x9" laminated Maui fish ID card.
If you purchase the map in advance of your Maui vacation, you can spread the map out for some trip planning on the long flight to Maui.
So for a few bucks, you can get some Maui specific maps that focus on what you want to see as a vacationer, rather than a focus on advertisements.
You can just print this page and other pages on this site to build yourself a pretty good free Road to Hana Guide to take with you to Maui.
If you would prefer to have a more conventional printed book, or just want a lot more detail than is provided on these pages, try the Road to Hana category at my Maui Vacation Guides page. They include:
General Maui travel guide books such as Maui Revealed, by far the largest selling Maui guide book, that include Road to Hana maps and chapters.
Specialty books such as Hana Highway: Mile by Mile with Hana maps
Traditional Maui folded maps such as Frankos Maui Guide Map that highlight the Road to Hana
