Thread: Ohe'o Gulch & Waimoku Falls, Maui

Haleakala National Park on Maui has several areas of interest. This is the ocean area.

The Pipiwai Trail, above Seven Sacred Pools, follows the Pipiwai Stream and is one of the best hikes on Maui. It is 4 miles roundtrip, gaining 650-feet in elevation. It takes 2 1/2 - 5 hours to hike, depending on how much nature loving you do. The final destination is the fantastic Waimoku Falls. This gigantic waterfall drops 400-feet down a sheer lava rock wall into a boulder-strewn pool. A large, rocky hill overlooks the bottom of the falls and the pool below. Recent rainfall greatly influences the size and strength of the falls. Never stand under the waterfall as there is the possibility of falling rocks or debris.

We were there in March, 2008. It's a beautiful area of Maui. You take the drive to Hana, I only have a few pictures of the drive due to the fact that I was the one driving and it is a VERY windy road
From Wikipedia
a typical trip to Hāna takes about three hours, as the road is very winding, very narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one-lane bridges, requiring oncoming traffic to yield and occasionally causing brief traffic jams if two vehicles meet head-on. There are approximately 620 curves along Highway 360 from just east of Kahului to Hana, virtually all of it through lush, tropicalrainforest

Here's a few photos on the way.................

We decided to hike up the Pipiwai Trail to Waimoku Falls before going down to the lower area of the Seven Sacred Pools where Ohe'o Falls are.

Here we go.................



About a third of the way up is this great tree. A good place for a short break and a look around.



My favorite part of this hike was the bamboo forest. The trail weaved it's way through it and towards the end, the trail is manmade. Can you imagine getting all of the materials up there? It had to be carried up, I don't know of another way they could have done it.

Almost to the falls..............



The Falls!!! There wasn't alot of water running the day we were there but we expected that due to the recent lack of rain.

We hiked back down the trail to Ohe'o Gulch where the Ohe'o Falls are..........here's a few photos of that area. Again, note there wasn't alot of water running the day we were there but it's all very beautiful and we were glad we went. We will go again, also.

the bridge and the falls...



the ocean below some pools

I found this photo of what the Ohe'o Falls look like when the water is running good.

Chud is right. It's one of the most wonderful hikes in Hawaii. It is tough on the way up, and can be slippery if it's been raining. Wear shoes with a good tread, and carry some water. We're looking forward to doing it again next year.

It's not a bad hike, we saw some much older folks doing it

Hawaii is a destination that you can go back to over and over again and not see it all! Something fresh to see and do every time!

We honeymooned, partially on Maui, and did this hike...its well worth it....

Carol, great series...thanks.