Canyoning on Maui - the Best of the Best

Searching the Hana Highway for the Perfect Canyon

Jan 20, 2009 David Black

Maui's wilderness is unique. All its canyons are intensely stunning in all aspects, but somewhere near Hana canyoneers can find the best of the best.

Canyoneering on Maui is a step above that of mainland America's canyon venues. From the top of Haleakala crater to the beaches below the Hana Highway and the falls of Alelele along the King's Trail near Haleakala National Park, the possibilities are endless.

The following information is purposely non-specific, designed to spark an intense curiosity in the reader. Precise locations and the names of the canyons are left for only the most determined to discover using a combination of the vague descriptions given here in conjunction with web-available resources such as topographic maps and satellite photos. The decision to limit the written detail is the result of local canyoneers' desires to delay the inevitable crowding and fixed-anchor issues that have negatively impacted the solitude and challenge of canyons in places like Zion National Park.

East of Wailua, West of Hana

The Hana Highway crosses dozens of canyons, most of which contain multiple waterfalls and can be considered technical canyons for the picking. Whenever dropping into any of these canyons, it's critical to remember that tributaries and springs may feed into them downstream and make the journey far more technical and dangerous than one would expect looking at it from the top.

Typically these canyons follow a similar stream profile: somewhere between ten and 25 rappels as long as 300 feet or more, with the longest and steepest drops occurring a few hundred yards upstream from the beach. Many of the final drops lead directly out to the sea, with deep tidepools and streams between the last drops and the outlets.

This is Hippie country. Much of this area was used by large groups of communal squatters for decades during the 1970's and 80's. Careful examination above and below major drops will often reveal trails, old fixed ropes, and even wooden or stone staircases. All of these potential lines of exit are overgrown and well integrated into the jungle forest and do not detract from the solitude or remoteness.

Although stumbling onto a marijuana patch is always a possibility anywhere on Maui, the likelihood of a confrontation with growers is less in this area as long as visitors stay away from settlements. Access and exits will be determined largely based on fences, warning signs, and the group's interpretation of maps. Asking the locals for information will simply attract attention, and such an obvious announcement may not be in the group's interest.

Haleakala and Canyoneering

The north coast of Maui could keep canyoneers busy for months, but there are other canyon gems to harvest. Few attempts have been made to do entire canyons from the Haleakala crater rim to the sea - a ten thousand foot vertical drop. Also, because of Haleakala National Park's ban on canyoneering within the Park boundaries, few of the tremendous canyons of the south coast have been completed. Such undertakings represent the future of canyon exploration on Maui.

Other articles in this series have identified and described in detail the two most popular and easily accessible technical canyons on Maui: Puohokamoa and Makamaka'ole. For visitors who only have a week or two to mix diving, surfing, sea kayaking, etc. with a few canyons, those are the logical choices. For those with more time and a greater sense of adventure, the options are virtually unlimited.

See Adventures on Maui for travel and logistic information.

Share Article |

The copyright of the article Canyoning on Maui - the Best of the Best in Rock Climbing is owned by David Black. Permission to republish Canyoning on Maui - the Best of the Best in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.