{"id":6114,"date":"2015-03-25T14:48:15","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T21:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tillthemoneyrunsout.com\/?p=6114"},"modified":"2016-02-14T15:33:43","modified_gmt":"2016-02-14T23:33:43","slug":"road-to-hana-stops-and-secret-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tillthemoneyrunsout.com\/road-to-hana-stops-and-secret-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Road to Hana Stops and Secret Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

The above photo is a sight that most people who take the road to Hana never see. The most popular route is to go from Kahului to Hana, and then turn around and head back. Everyone is trying to start earlier than everyone else to beat the crowds and squeeze in as many stops as possible. Most posts I read while planning our day on this popular route described being too tired to visit any of the beautiful hikes later in the day. I read about the top 17, top 14 and top 10. I read about hitting the road by 6am to see it all. I don’t know about ya’ll, but that sounded like too much work for us! YUCK. <\/p>\n

Also that means backtracking across areas you’ve already seen and totally missing the area past Hana which crosses the back side of Haleakala and traverses through Maui’s gorgeous upcountry. An area that includes our longest stops, is dotted with lookouts over gorgeous views and is basically empty! <\/p>\n

We decided to take the road less traveled and hit it from the back, from the amount of people we saw on the road this is not a popular choice! We found that the road before Hana (if you are going counter-clockwise as we did) around Haleakala is an adventure worth taking. In about the same amount of time as it would take you to go clockwise with everyone else, and then double back the way you came, you can see a side of Maui most are persuaded to miss.<\/p>\n

I feel as though I should add here that many people choose not to take this route because the road becomes rough for portions and precariously hugs the side of cliffs. In fact many rental car companies expressly say \u201cyou\u2019re on your own\u201d if you take this route. That said, we found the roads to be extremely well-maintained and if you drive slowly, which you will want to do to admire the landscapes, you’ll be fine!<\/p>\n

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We started our day heading heading inland from Kahului through open spaces, tall golden grass and spectacular vistas over mountains and oceans. We continued on watching the landscapes go from arid to jungle as the day and road progressed. What follows is our backwards itinerary of the road to Hana. All stops are accompanied by their mile markers on the highway. It’s important to note: Mile Markers are tricksy!<\/strong> They start over and jump around and occasionally start counting in different directions as the highways change according to cartographers, though it still feels like one continuous road. Most of these places can be located on Google maps if you have an iPhone or GPS, so just trust that you didn’t miss anything. <\/p>\n

1. Oheo Gulch (7 sacred pools) and Pipiwai Stream Trail Hike (Mile Marker 42)<\/h3>\n

This hike was my main motivation for slipping in the back door. Most people say they missed the hike because they got there and it was crawling with people. The bamboo boardwalk was high up on my list of places to see, so I did not want to get there at the end of a long day where even the promise of a beautiful bamboo forest couldn’t convince me to embark on a hike. <\/p>\n

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