Become An Explorer At Haleakala National Park

On your Haleakala sunrise bike tour, you’ll delight in a land tour of Haleakala National Park’s Summit area as well as Haleakala Crater with incredible views at 10,023 feet along with the unique cinder landscape and flora found uniquely on this Maui volcano. In fact, the National Park Service (NPS) noted that if the weather is favorable when you visit the Summit, you can amazingly see 5 other Hawaiian islands from the top of Haleakala.

But there’s really so much to explore at Haleakala National Park that the land tour around the Summit and Crater that comes with your Haleakala bike tour may just whet you appetite to come back later and discover more of this amazing volcanic park. This park is so full of national wonders and breathtaking beauty that you’ll definitely need more than one day to check out all that this volcano has to offer. No wonder the National Park Service makes admission to Haleakala National Park valid for 3 days.

So now the question is, what will you see in your 72 hours? Well, we’ve taken note of some interesting things you may want to see or do while you’re exploring this spectacular park.

The NPS generally divides Haleakala National Park into 3 different areas: the Summit Area, the Wilderness Area, and the Kipahulu Area. Of course, you’ll see part of the Summit on your Haleakala sunrise bike tour, but you can also hike through this “high-elevation ecosystem” along over 30 miles of hiking trails. See native Hawaii here with its “rare and endemic species” like Hawaiian honeycreepers or the Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel. Haleakala National Park staff members are on-hand each day in the Summit area to provide education talks and answer questions about this interesting ecosystem. Or come back to the Summit at sunset and be amazed at the number of stars you can see in this brilliantly clear sky, viewed at 10,000 feet!

With numerous microclimates and the differing landscapes on the Haleakala volcano, the Wilderness Area affords a world of adventure. “Your steps will take you from brown and red cinder cones, towering hundreds of feet tall in dry, cold desert air to cloudforests dripping with red and green native ferns,” the NPS worte. If you enjoy camping, there are two Wilderness campgrounds where you can enjoy the wilderness in a tent. And for those who want a little more of the comforts of home, you can reserve one of three historic cabins along the trails. Overnight camping will require a permit and a reservation is required for the cabins. You could also just simply take a day hike through this beautiful terrain. Be careful hiking at these high altitudes, however, and remember to bring food and water along for the trip.

Similarly beautiful but visually very different, the coastal area of Kipahulu offers visitors another angle and view of the mountain. Lush rainforests lead visitors to gorgeous waterfalls and the famous freshwater pools of Ohe’o Gulch. Visitors can swim in this area of Kipahulu, but only when conditions allow as dangerous flash flooding does occur. A number of hiking trails lead through this tropical rainforest region of Haleakala National Park, and a drive-up campground is available. The magnificent coastline of the Kipahulu area has several nice overlooks where you might see dolphins, monk seals, or sea turtles playing along the ocean coastline. Hawaiian culture can also be found in the hills of the Kipahulu area as cultural demonstrations and archaeological sites give you a glimpse into the native culture of Hawaii. You can access the Kipahulu area by driving 12 miles past the town of Hana on Hana Highway on the northeast coast.

Your admission ticket to the Haleakala National Park will also allow you access to the Kipahulu entrance as well.

So after you’ve been wowed by the amazing views, restaurants, and shops along your self-paced Haleakala bike tour down the volcano, the next day you could camp out in the wilderness or hike through the rainforest. The Haleakala National Park offers a world of adventure and beauty. Why not explore soon all the wonders that can be found at the Haleakala volcano?

Best Beaches In Maui

From all over the world people visit our beautiful Valley Isle just to enjoy its gorgeous beaches. Hanging out, being a Maui beach bum for the day, is definitely a must-do on a vacation here. Many kick back at the beach after their Haleakala sunrise bike tour, or guests can simply use our Maui bike rentals to explore Maui’s best beaches on their own.

You might not want to just stay at the beach by your hotel, with so much to see why not venture out to some of the other beaches on Maui’s pristine shores? Maui has so many wonderful beaches. You have to visit at least a few on your excursion here.

So to help you with your beach exploration, we’ve made a list of some of best beaches in Maui and some of the Maui activities you can do while you’re there.

Baldwin Beach

Located approximately mile from our shop in Paia is the white sand Baldwin Beach. This is a great beach to go to after your Haleakala bike tour. There is actually a good bike trail down to Baldwin Beach from the town of Paia. Based on availability, we offer daily Maui bike rentals for those who want to just enjoy biking around for the day. Noted as one of Maui’s most beautiful white sand beaches, Baldwin is a favorite for locals with protected swimming areas and lifeguards on the east and west ends of the beach. At Baldwin Beach Park, there are open air tables, grills, showers, and a covered pavilion if you would like to have a picnic at the beach after your Haleakala bike tour.

Ho’okipa Beach

Also close to Paia along the Hana Highway on the North Shore is Ho’okipa Beach. Known as the “windsurfing capital of the world,” Ho’okipa is a exciting place to stop and watch world-class windsurfers and surfing professionals on the large winter waves from either the beach or close by picnic areas. Also a popular spot among locals, Ho’okipa has pavilions, grills, tables, showers, and restrooms where you can enjoy a nice picnic lunch and watch all the action, even possibly a thrilling windsurfing competition. You may even see some Hawaiian green sea turtles make their way up the shore. So stop by on your way home from your Haleakala sunrise bike tour and watch the sunset at this stunning Maui beach if you can.

DT Fleming Beach

Here is an awesome spot for relaxing in the sun, located in West Maui – DT Fleming Beach Park at Honokahua Bay. This beautiful long, sandy beach offers a great view and a great place to go body boarding or boogie boarding. With picnic tables, grills, restrooms, etc., this park is perfect for enjoying a sunset picnic or a full day at the beach. Although there is a nice shoreline that gets gradually deeper as you walk out, there can be some pretty powerful waves and strong rip currents so be careful in the surf. Interestingly, the DT Fleming Beach is named for David Thomas Fleming who introduced pineapple to West Maui as a commercial crop.

Big Beach (Makena)

In the southern part of Maui, you’ll find a beautiful sandy beach known as Big Beach or Makena Beach that’s a little less much-frequented than other Maui beaches. South of Wailea, Big Beach is one of Maui’s biggest beaches with long and dramatically wide shorelines, making it a great spot for sunbathing amid awesome views of Molokini and Kahoolawe. The waves can be pretty strong with on-shore breaks, so swim with much needed caution if you are inexperienced, especially in high surf, fortunately there is a lifeguard on duty. Big Beach offers a spectacular sunset view, beautiful blue/green water, and a more out-of-the-way beach location than some of the well sought after Maui beaches.

Ka’anapali Beach

Maui’s most well-known beach is Ka’anapali Beach found in West Maui. A mile-long pristine beach lined with resorts, shops, and restaurants, Ka’anapali Beach is one of the premier tourist purposes in Maui. This signature white sand beach is home to the famous cliff area at north end known as Black Rock, where a cliff diver nightly lights a ceremonial torch and dives off the cliff into the Pacific. Along with the chance to cliff jump, this Black Rock area offers some great snorkeling and diving along its underwater reefs. The water here in some places can experience strong currents so caution is needed. For those who just want to enjoy the view, there’s a nice paved walking path along the beach passing in front of the resorts and shops.

Red Sand Beach (Kaihalulu)

If you’re still up for a little more adventure after your Haleakala bike tour, you might travel on the Hana Highway just south of Hana Bay to the oasis of Red Sand Beach on Kaihalulu Bay. You’ll have to take a short hike to get to this unique cove beach filled with deep red-black sand. The distinctive red sand comes from the cinder hill surrounding the secluded beach. Be careful when hiking to the beach as the path can be steep, narrow, and a bit slippery so good shoes are a must. Swimming is not advised here because of the strong currents (Kaihalulu actually means “roaring sea”), but the amazing scenery is worth the journey to this exceptional beach.

These are just a few of Maui’s best beaches. Others you may want to visit include the Black Sand Beach on the Hana Highway, Kapalua Beach, Hamoa Beach, and Wailea Beach. Check out some of these awesome Maui beaches on your way home from your Haleakala volcano tour!

Great Places to Eat On The Ride Down On Your Haleakala Bike Tour

Visitors to Maui can bike the incredible volcano, Haleakala, downhill from the summit all the way to the beach on our self-paced bike tours that give vacationers a relaxing and fun way of checking out Maui’s amazing Upcountry.

Because it’s a self-paced bike tour, you can at your whim, stop along the way for breakfast or lunch at the many great shops and restaurants along the road. On our narrated van tour driving up Haleakala, our expert guides will tell you about great places to eat at along with various points of interests and history about Haleakala. But we thought we might go ahead and outline some places to stop and grab a bite on the bike ride down to help you prepare for your Haleakala bike tour a little more. . .

Maui Lavender Café

A quaint lavender farm and café will be the first place to stopover along your bike ride down Haleakala. Located right along the bike path on Crater Road in Kula, the Maui Lavender Café
serves a full breakfast including delicious banana pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, French toast, breakfast tacos, ‘biker’ burritos, bagels, and even breakfast pizza. They also have a variety of teas and coffees (many of them with a lavender theme such as lavender ginger lemonade, lavender iced or hot tea, etc.) as well as snacks like scones and cookies. The Maui Lavender Café has an amiable gazebo with a great view that’s perfect for outdoor dining as well as a garden of lavender and a eucalyptus forest you can walk around to really embrace the unforgettable landscape of Upcountry Maui.

Fruit Stands

As you continue your biking down Haleakala, you’ll see a number of small stands selling a variety of fresh fruit along the bike route. Many of these roadside stands operate on the honor system, where those biking in Maui down the volcano simply can leave money and take the fruit they want. This fresh fruit is often a much-needed energizing treat along the Haleakala volcano bike tour.

Kula Lodge and Restaurant

A little farther down the Haleakala volcano tour at about 3,200 feet, you’ll come to the Kula Lodge and Restaurant. This quiet spots is among a gorgeous garden of flower farms of carnations, protea, and other beautiful tropical plants that make the perfect backdrop for a picture to remember your Haleakala sunrise bike tour. The Kula Restaurant is open all week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can enjoy a delicious meal in the outdoor garden terrace that overlooks the West Maui Mountains and the Pacific Ocean in the distance. A wood-burning pizza oven creates delicious pizza dishes by the Kula Lodge and Restaurant’s Executive Chef. Stop by the Kula Lodge and Restaurant on your Haleakala bike tour for wonderfully romantic views and delightful dishes.

Makawao Town

In Paniolo Country, there is a small town called Makawao found along the slopes of Haleakala. You’ll run into this charming town on your Maui volcano bike tour. Take your time here and see all the rich paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) heritage that Makawao is well known for. Along with annual rodeos and country western dancing, Makawao is home to a number of art galleries, boutiques, and shops that you’ll want to explore. Also, there’s a number of excellent places to to eat. T. Komoda’s Store and Bakery is famous for their amazing donuts as well as their cream puffs and butter rolls. If you want to stop for lunch, Polli’s Mexican Restaurant makes home-style quesadillas, fish tacos, tostadas, and other authentic Mexican dishes. If you’re feeling more like Italian, the Casanova Italian Restaurant and Deli is a good choice. Makawao Sushi and Deli offers some tasty rainbow sushi rolls, ahi poke, and other seafood favorites. For some grab and go food items, you can stop by the Rodeo General Store in Makawao. Along with being a great little grocery store, they also have a small deli with different kinds of sandwiches and salads for your enjoyment.

Lumeria Maui

On the bike ride through Haleakala in between Makawao and Paia, you’ll find the Lumeria Maui eco-luxury educational retreat. Along with their yoga and meditation classes set in a beautiful resort location, Lumeria is home to the MuBu restaurant that features fresh Farm to Table foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner served amid beautiful tropical gardens and amazing views.

One Love Farmer’s Market

You’ll find the One Love Farmer’s Market just before you get to Paia on your Haleakala bike tour. Located in a former train depot, this intriguing farmer’s market offers a variety of all local fruits and vegetables. Tropical smoothies, fresh juices, and other great snacks are served here as well.





Paia Town

At the end of your Haleakala volcano biking tour, you’ll come to the town of Paia. Here there are numerous great restaurants to try, including the Paia Fish Market, Dazoo, Café Des Amis, Flatbread Company,  Rock and Brews, Anthony’s Coffee Company, and many more. These boast a variety of delicious treats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So after your Haleakala sunrise bike tour, take a little time to check out all the great shops and restaurants in our little Paia Town.

Enjoy Haleakala National Park On Your Maui Bike Tour

Are you all ready for your Maui volcano bike tour? To help you get mentally well-prepared for this amazing journey and get even more delight out of it, we thought we might give you a little history about Haleakala itself and what you're likely to see on your Haleakala sunrise excursion.

As you may already be aware, Haleakala is Maui’s biggest volcano, and Haleakala National Park is home to the tallest peak in Maui, the summit of Haleakala at 10,023 feet. Many native Hawaiians consider the summit area of Haleakala to be a special place, “the wilderness of the gods.” It’s said that when the Polynesians first arrived in Hawaii more than a thousand years ago they regularly went up to the summit of Haleakala and its majestic beauty. There are many of important cultural places and sites that can be found in the Haleakala National Park.

Established in 1916, Haleakala National Park comprises more than 30,000 acres of public lands – the most famous part of which is the Haleakala Crater. Visitors can hike through this richly-colored volcanic landscape from the summit of Haleakala. There are two main trails into the crater: Halemau’u and Sliding Sands trails. The Haleakala Crater area is home to rare and endemic species of wildlife and plants. You may see Hawaiian geese or “nene” looking for food in their natural habitat amid the crater’s cinder desert.

Another neat aspect of the Haleakala National Park is the diversity of landscapes that it has. From hiking across the Haleakala volcano desert in the Summit Area to traversing tropical coastal environments and waterfalls in the Kipahulu Area, the Haleakala National Park offers a wide array of views and activities.

“You pass through as many ecological zones on a two hour drive to the summit of Haleakalā as you would on a journey from Mexico to Canada,” the Haleakala National Park Service noted.
Along with hiking, visitors can also go camping, swimming in the freshwater pools at Ohe’o Gulch (only when conditions allow), and sky watching at the top of this Maui volcano.

The Haleakala sunrise is the often the highlight of a visit to Haleakala National Park. Many can’t imagine how amazing the sunrise looks from the summit of Haleakala. It’s one of the most unforgettable things you can do on your Maui vacation. On our Haleakala sunrise bike tour, you can see this memorable sunrise and then bike down the Maui volcano all the way to sea level at your own pace. As part of our Haleakala volcano tours, we take our Maui biking guests on a narrated tour of the Haleakala National Park area they will be biking through.

Our tour guides provide Haleakala bike tour guests with the best and most extensive narration of the Haleakala National Park – explaining points of interest along the route, the history of the area, interesting aspects of Hawaiian culture, and also tasty dining options at restaurants along the bike route. With our Maui volcano tours, guests are driven by van to the summit on the same route they will bike down the volcano. Maui biking guests can then enjoy a relaxing and enjoyable self-paced bike tour through the Haleakala National Park down to sea level.

So have a blast on your Maui volcano bike tour and enjoy all the thrilling sights the Haleakala National Park has to offer.

Best Places In Maui For Bike Rides

Biking enthusiasts  often delight in Maui for its beauty and diverse scenery. Biking trails in Maui can vary, from challenging singletracks up Maui’s majestic mountains to laid back rides by the beach. No matter which Maui biking trail you take, you’re sure to see some stunningly beautiful sights. So if you’re scheduling a visit to the island soon, plan some time to take a ride in this biker’s oasis and perhaps test your Maui mountain bike skills in the places listed below.

Haleakala Sunrise Bike Tour

In our honest opinion we feel that every cyclist should bike Haleakala at least once. Our Haleakala sunrise bike tour starts at the summit of this 10,023 ft. Maui volcano at sunrise. This sunrise above the clouds amid the mountains and with the ocean in the distance is simply an spectacular sight! Then see the unique Haleakala Crater with its pumice stone landscape and desert cinder. Wind downhill through the beautiful Upcountry of Maui and take breaks at little shops and towns all the way down to the ocean. Our downhill Haleakala bike tours are self-paced and can either start at sunrise on the summit or a little later in the day at the peak of Haleakala.

Only the most advanced mountain biker may want to traverse Haleakala uphill, or maybe just part of it really. “One of the most difficult bike climbs in the world” is what biking all the way up Haleakala has been called, with gradients reaching up to 18% over 36 miles. Every year the toughest of mountain bikers climb Haleakala in a race famed as the Cycle to the Sun on the “longest, steepest paved road on the planet.”

But for most of us, biking down Haleakala is the best choice for a Maui bike ride. The downhill Haleakala bike tour is unquestionably an absolute must-do bike ride for those who want to see all the unique beauty that Upcountry Maui has to offer.

Kahakapao Loop

This singletrack bike ride in the Makawao Forest winds through “stands of eucalyptus, cook pines, and tropical ash,” the Maui Mountain Bike Coalition mentioned. It perhaps is better for mountain bikers who want a more rigorous Maui bike ride. Starting on the east side loop and going clockwise, this steady climb has an average grade of 7.7%. “As a climb, the trail can be challenging or easy depending on the speed at which you ride,” the Coalition said. “As a descent, this trail gives cyclists speed and flow.” This singletrack through dense forests has roots and tight corners to look out for, and it’s not suggested to ride in wet conditions as it can get very slick.

West Maui Loop

The West Maui Loop bike ride is another great Maui bike ride to take on your vacation. Along with the Haleakala bike tour and Hana Highway, West Maui is one of the most scenic bike rides in Maui. This challenging ride runs along the beautiful shorelines of northwest Maui. Because it is a loop, you can start and stop almost at any point along the bike ride. If you did ride the entire West Maui Loop, it would be about 60 miles all together. On the northern side of the loop, the road turns from a two-lane paved road into a one-lane meadering road along cliffs, so great caution is highly recommended. Because it gets windier as the day goes on, it’s best to start out early, but be careful because the roads can also be slick from dew or rain.

Along your bike through West Maui, you’ll see beautiful Honolua Bay, which is a good surfing break where many professional surfers come to ride the waves. Then stop to see the Nakalele Blowhole just outside Honokohau Bay. Further on at the Kahakuloa Village, you can stop and have a bite to eat at the local banana bread stand before you continue on the bendy path. With its picturesque stops at every turn, the West Maui Loop is definitely another not-to-be-missed Maui bike ride.

If you really enjoy biking and want to explore a little more in Maui, we have bike rentals in Maui in addition to our self-paced bike tours. With our daily Maui bike rentals, you can rent the bike and equipment, along with a vehicle bike rack, and then you can enjoy biking for the entire day. Be mindful though that you will need an extra driver, and our Maui bike rentals are based on availability. Call for more details.

Experience some of the most thrilling and enjoyable mountain bike rides on earth by taking one of these amazing Maui bike rides through this gorgeous island.