Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Old Maui High School
Stoic in appearance (and rumored to be haunted),
Old Maui High
(
www.oldmauihigh.org
)
is one of the last relics of Upper Pa'ia's glory days. When traveling toward Hana, by mak-
ing a right onto Holomua Road and traveling 1.3 miles uphill through a tunnel of trees
you'll reach what was once one of Maui's thriving educational centers. Opened in 1913
as the island's first coeducational institution, Old Maui High was the central valley's main
school before the population base shifted to Kahului during the 1950s. Some 1,000 stu-
dents arrived in this rural corner of Hamakuapoko by horse and buggy or the old Kahului
Railroad. As plantation workers fanned out to other parts of the island, however, the pop-
ulation of Pa'ia dwindled. When a new Maui High School opened in Kahului in 1972, the
old Hamakuapoko campus fell into disrepair. Various organizations have emerged over the
last decade to preserve and maintain the 24-acre campus. Tourists rarely visit to Old Maui
High, but it's a quick, scenic, and historic detour from the Road to Hana.
•
Mile Marker 8.8:
Ho'okipa Beach Park
Ho'okipa Beach Park
Two miles past the town of Pa'ia is Ho'okipa Beach Park (mile marker 8.8), with a scenic
overlook for watching the surf in winter and turtles in summer. This is not only one of
the best surfing spots on the island, but it's considered the best windsurfing spot in the
world. On most afternoons you can find windsurfers racing through the waves on the left
side of the beach. During the winter, watch from the safety of the cliffs as surfers throw
themselves into waves that out at over 20 feet. On days when the surf is too big for even
the most experienced surfers, Ho'okipa can be an even more dramatic spot for watch-
ing the surf than Jaws, because at Ho'okipa you're much closer to the raw power of the
ocean. Massive North Pacific swells march their way across the horizon and explode on
the jagged rocks with a frothy fury, like white horses galloping on the sea.
•
Mile Marker 10.3:
Maliko Gulch
•
Mile Marker 13.5:
Turnoff for Jaws
Peahi (Jaws)
This is quite possibly the most famous surf break on the planet. Scores of visitors come
here hoping to say they saw 70-foot waves during their trip to Hawai'i.
