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.

How To Stay Energized On The Haleakala Sunrise Bike Tour

One of the most extraordinary things you can do while on the Valley Isle in Maui is the sunrise bike tour from the peak of Haleakala. Seeing the Haleakala sunrise is nothing short of absolutely amazing. The night sky is covered like a blanket with stars and then turns into a beautiful medley of colors as the sun glistens through the clouds and over the mountains of Upcountry Maui.

The Haleakala sunrise is an experience that simply should not be passed over. But to get a glimpse of this awe-inspiring sunrise view, you’ll have to get up pretty early – around 3 a.m. – to travel to the summit of Haleakala at 10,023 feet. What can you do to get ready for this incredible journey?

Since Maui sunrise bike tour guests meet us at our shop in Paia at 3 a.m., some guests have found it helpful to schedule their Haleakala sunrise bike ride for the first full day of their vacation. This is helpful for the early excursion because jet lag could actually work in your favor in this instance. Coming from the mainland U.S., there can be as much as a 7-hour time change traveling to Maui, and around twice that for those traveling to Maui from Europe. Because of this time difference, most Maui visitors naturally wake up early the first few days of their vacation. So what better way to use those early morning hours than to see the majestic sunrise from the atop Haleakala?

Also, visitors often want to know what they should wear on the Haleakala sunrise bike tour. The summit of Haleakala is at a tremendous 10,023 feet above sea level. At this high elevation in the mountains, temperatures can get pretty cold and windy, and even more so during the winter months. So really warm clothes are definitely needed at the summit, preferably worn in layers that you can take off as you bike down the volcano to warmer Maui temperatures. Backpacks are thoughtfully provided as part of our Haleakala sunrise bike tour for guests to carry their extra clothes and supplies on the ride down. You might even want to bring a blanket for viewing the sunrise on Haleakala’s summit. Then, when you start the Maui bike tour down Haleakala, you can leave the blanket in the tour van and pick it up at our shop when you return.

At this high of elevation, proper nutrition and hydration is essential. In order to prevent altitude sickness, you’ll need to drink plenty of fluids, and be mindful to refuel your electrolytes. It’s recommend that those at high altitudes basically double their intake of water. This includes drinking lots of water before you ascend Haleakala, during your Maui bike ride, and after you’ve returned to sea level. Also, you might want to pack some snacks to take for your bike ride down Haleakala. Experts recommend eating a high-calorie diet with plenty of carbohydrates in high altitudes to keep your body filled with energy. Eating foods high in iron like spinach and other dark greens can also help to prevent altitude sickness.

However, you should limit your consumption of sodium and fat as well as avoiding tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and sedatives that can affect your respiration and hydration, especially at high altitudes. In fact, it’s recommended that those traveling to high altitudes avoid alcohol for 48 hours before they ascend. It’s always good to check with your doctor about any additional recommendations or health considerations that you in particular may need to stay mindful of.

When you partake in this incredible Haleakala sunrise bike tour in Maui and see the sunrise above the clouds after viewing such a clear night sky literally packed with stars, you’ll be so glad you got up early, drank plenty of fluids, and prepped well for this unforgettable adventure.