Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Maui (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Waiʻanapanapa State Park, Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary, and Puʻu Kukui. Also, be sure to include Makawao Forest Reserve in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Maui (Hawaii).
Table of Contents
Waiʻanapanapa State Park
State park in Hana, Hawaii. Waiʻanapanapa State Park is a 122-acre state park in Hana, on the island of Maui, in Hawaii. It is located at the end of Waiʻanapanapa Road off Hana Highway at mile marker 32, 53 miles east of Kahului, Maui. Waiʻanapanapa means “glistening fresh water” in the Hawaiian language, referring to nearby fresh water streams and sparkling pools. The camp offers camping facilities, including a small lawn where campers may pitch a tent, and a public bathroom nearby.
Tide pools at the park turn red several times of a year. Scientists state that it is due to of the arrival of small shrimp, however local folklore says it's the blood of Popoaleae, a mythical princess who was murdered in a nearby lava tube by her husband, Chief Ka'akea.[1]
Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary
Wetland in Hawaii. Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary is a 143-acre wetland in Maui, Hawaii. This waterfowl sanctuary attracts two endangered Hawaiian bird species, the Hawaiian coot and the Hawaiian stilt. Kanaha Pond was designated a state sanctuary in 1951 and a National Natural Landmark in 1971. The site has hosted numerous vagrant birds, including Gray-tailed Tattler and Belted Kingfisher, as well as Hawaii's first record of Black-tailed Godwit.[2]
Puʻu Kukui
Mountain in Hawaii. Puʻu Kukui is a mountain peak in Hawaiʻi. It is the highest peak of Mauna Kahalawai. The 5,788-foot summit rises above the Puʻu Kukui Watershed Management Area, an 8,661-acre private nature preserve maintained by the Maui Land & Pineapple Company. The peak was formed by a volcano whose caldera eroded into what is now Īʻao Valley.
Puʻu Kukui is one of the wettest spots on Earth and the third wettest in the state after Big Bog, Maui and Mount Waiʻaleʻale, receiving an average of 386.5 inches (9,820 mm) of rain a year. Rainwater unable to drain away flows into a bog. The soil is dense, deep, and acidic.
Puʻu Kukui is home to many endemic plants, insects, and birds, including the greensword (Argyroxiphium grayanum), a distinctive bog variety of ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha var. pseudorugosa) and many lobelioid species. Due to the mountain peak's extreme climate and peat soil, many species, such as the ʻōhiʻa, are represented as dwarfs. Access to the area is restricted to researchers and conservationists.[3]
Address: 3700 Kehalani Mauka Pkwy, Maui
Makawao Forest Reserve
Nature preserve in Maui County, Hawaii. Makawao Forest Reserve is a 2,093 acres reserve located in upcountry Maui in Maui County, Hawaiʻi, United States on the northwest slope of Haleakala. It is located 2.7 miles from the town of Makawao and 15 miles from Kahului Airport.
Many indigenous and foreign plants, shrubs and trees grow in the forest. They include tropical ash, Cook pine, hala pepe, eucalyptus, leʻle, mamaki, pilo and kupukupu. It is also the home and origin of Hyposmocoma makawao which is a species of moth in the family Cosmopterigidae.
There are seven developed trails including Kahakapao Loop, Pineapple Express, Renegade Trail, Ravine Trail, Secret Trail and Tweener Trail. The Kahakapao Loop is the main trail which is 6.2 miles (10 km) long.
Admission is free and walking and mountain-bike trails are open to the public from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. There are two portable toilets available for visitors and one is suitable for wheelchairs.[4]
Wailua Valley State Wayside Park
Park in Maui County, Hawaii. Wailua Valley State Wayside Park is located 31 miles east of Kahului, Maui. The lookout provides views into Ke'anae Valley. From the park you can view waterfalls, the Ko'olau Gap, Wailua Peninsula and the rim of Haleakala Crater.[5]
Address: 14560 Hana Hwy, 96708 Kula
Haleakalā Observatory
Observatory in Maui County, Hawaii. The Haleakalā Observatory, also known as the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, is Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory. It is located on the island of Maui and is owned by the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawai'i, which operates some of the facilities on the site and leases portions to other organizations. Tenants include the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. At over 3,050 meters in altitude, the summit of Haleakalā is above one third of the Earths's troposphere and has excellent astronomical seeing conditions.[6]
Rinzai Zen Mission
Temple
Address: 120 Alawai Rd, Maui (Makawao)
Enchanting Floral Gardens of Kula
The Enchanted Floral Gardens of Kula, Maui is a botanical garden located in Kula, on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The 8 acres garden is in the mountains, at 2,500 feet above sea level.
The gardens contain over 2000 species of subtropical and tropical plants from around the world. The collection has an emphasis on fruit trees and flowering plants, including: hibiscus, orchids, and proteas.
The Enchanted Floral Gardens are open daily Tuesday through Sunday, 9am to 5pm, with an admission fee. They are located at 2505 Kula Highway, mile marker 10,(Highway 37), in Kula.
Formerly known as the Enchanting Floral Gardens, it was closed for four years, reopening in 2017.[7]
Address: 2505 Kula Hwy, 96790-8742 Kula (Makawao)
West Maui Mountains
Mountain in Hawaii. The West Maui Mountains, West Maui Volcano, or Mauna Kahālāwai which means "holding house of water," is approximately 1.7 million years old and forms a much eroded shield volcano that constitutes the western quarter of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. Since its last eruption approximately 320,000 years ago, the West Maui Mountains have undergone substantial stream erosion.
The three moku (districts) of West Maui are Lāhaina, Kāʻanapali, and Wailuku. Wailuku is also known as "Pūʻalikomohana" ("west isthmus"), or "Nā Wai ʻEhā" ("the four waters"). The port of Lāhainā lies on the southwestern slope.
The summit peak at 5,788 feet (1,764 m) elevation is called "Puʻu Kukui," and its name translates to "candlenut hill".[8]
Kula Botanical Garden
Botanical garden in Kula, Hawaii. Kula Botanical Garden is a 8-acre botanical garden located on Kekaulike Highway near the Kula Highway junction in Maui, Hawaii. It is open daily. An admission fee of $10.00 for adults and $3 for children ages 6–12 is charged. Children under six are admitted free.
The garden was created in 1977 by Warren McCord as a native Hawaiian plant reserve. It was Maui's first public garden. The garden is located near the Haleakalā volcano, at an elevation of 3,300 feet (1,000 m). For both tropical and semitropical species. Today the garden contains nearly 2,000 plant varieties, including collections of protea, orchids, bromeliads, native Hawaiian plants, and trees including koa and kukui. Other features include an aviary, a koi pond, waterfalls, and a covered bridge.[9]
Garden Of Eden Arboretum
Relax in park, Park, Garden
Address: 10600 Hana Hwy, 96708-5790 Hana (Makawao)
3.67 m Advanced Electro Optical System Telescope
The 3.67 m Advanced Electro Optical System Telescope is a Department of Defense telescope at Haleakala Observatory. The telescope is part of the Maui Space Surveillance Complex, which in turn is part of the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site.
The 3.67-meter telescope, known as the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS), owned by the Department of Defense, is the United States' largest optical telescope designed for tracking satellites. The 75-ton AEOS telescope points and tracks very accurately, yet is fast enough to track both low-Earth satellites and ballistic missiles. It can slew at nearly 20 degrees per second. It is an f/200 and has an extremely narrow field of view. AEOS can be used simultaneously by many groups or institutions because its light can be channeled through a series of mirrors to seven independent coudé rooms below the telescope. Employing sophisticated sensors that include an adaptive optics system, radiometer, spectrograph, and long-wave infrared imager, the telescope tracks man-made objects in deep space and performs space object identification data collection.
AEOS is equipped with an adaptive optics system, the heart of which is a 941-actuator deformable mirror that can change its shape to remove the atmosphere's distorting effects. Scientists are expected to get near diffraction-limited images of space objects.[10]
Curtis Wilson Cost Gallery
Museum
Address: 15200 Haleakala Hwy, 96790-8007 Kula (Makawao)
Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory
Observatory in Maui County, Hawaii. The Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory is an Air Force Research Laboratory operating location at Haleakala Observatory on Maui, Hawaii, with a twofold mission. First, it conducts the research and development mission on the Maui Space Surveillance System at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex. Second, it oversees operation of the Maui High Performance Computing Center. AFRL's research and development mission on Maui was formally called Air Force Maui Optical Station; the use of the term AMOS has been widespread throughout the technical community for over thirty years and is still used today at many technical conferences. The main-belt asteroid 8721 AMOS is named after the project.[11]
Aliʻi Kula Lavender
Gift shop, Shopping
Address: 1100 Waipoli Rd, 96790-7818 Kula (Makawao)