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-   -   Maui blowhole and Hana road questions.. (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/maui-blowhole-and-hana-road-questions-383621/)

karussell Jun 23rd, 2008 07:19 AM

Maui blowhole and Hana road questions..
 
We are interested in seeing the blowhole while we are on Maui but, according to the map we have the road there is unpaved. Is this a route that you think is passable in a regular car?

Also is the road past Hana, the unpaved one, passable with a regular car?

kureiff Jun 23rd, 2008 08:45 AM

The road to the blowhole is paved. Then you walk down a dirt trail to get to the blowhole.

sylvia3 Jun 23rd, 2008 08:50 AM

The road past Hana is paved for a while (a bit past Owyhee Gulch, or "sacred pools" it is not), but perfectly passable. I've done the full ride back around that side (past Tedeschi winery, to Kahului), many times. HOWEVER: I believe part of the road is still closed due to earthquake damage? (Someone should have more up to date info.)

hpeabody Jun 23rd, 2008 11:17 AM

The west maui mountain drive where you will see the blowhole is wonderful. The road is fine, but very curvy. The views are awesome. As kureiff said you walk down a path from the road to get a closer look.

The road between Hana and Oheo Gulch is paved, but slow going. It didn't used to be the way it is now, what a difference!) It is totally worth it. There is parking lot and trails to the pools a little past a roadside waterfall. The view is like heaven. Past Oheo gulch I think you can go to Lindberg's grave pretty well. After that I always read it is not recommended, although people do it all the time. I have not myself. Enjoy!

CajunStorm Jun 23rd, 2008 12:21 PM

As kureiff stated, the road near the Nakalele Blowhole is most definitely paved. I recently did the wild, curvy, narrow drive around the West Maui mountains and you will not have gotten to any of the really scary parts of the road by this mile marker (if coming from Kapalua).

I think that the road past Hana (really past Lindbergh's grave) is passable with a regular car (at least it was before the earthquake damage) but there are many parts where you might have to slow down due to the bumpiness, etc. We have taken this route at least twice in a 4WD SUV with no problems. I think Auntiemaria had posted the latest info on the road closure (opening later this year maybe?) so search this forum.

banares Jun 23rd, 2008 01:35 PM

Even though we saw several going down the path to the blow hole wearing flipflops, I recommend sneakers.
It was not easy finding the blowhole; we stopped where we saw cars parked on the side of the road, and used binoculars to scout the coast. We stopped at 1 other spot thinking we'd find the blowhole there. But the area is very scenic and worth the walk.

DellaS Jul 11th, 2008 07:12 AM

Just got back from our trip July 4th and can state that the road to the blowhole is definitely fine - we drove a Mercury Marquis in Maui (don't ask) and had no problem - you drive, pull over onto a pretty decent-sized but smooth unpaved area and then hike down - I would rate the hike a "medium" but would DEFINITELY suggest sneakers or shoes with traction - DH and DD had Teva-type sneaker/sandals and they were perfect.
As far as the road past Lindberg's grave, the earthquake-damage portion was closed when we were there, although we were told by several locals that it was expected to open by "end of summer".

Marginal Jul 11th, 2008 07:21 AM

There have been several people who died at the blowhole because they were swept away by an errant wave.

Don't go anywhere near the edge, even to take pictures.

basch0902 Jul 13th, 2008 07:09 PM

We also just got back from Maui and went to both the blow-hole and beyond Hana. We can confirm that the road to the blowhole was paved and tell you that we did it with flip-flops. My advice...bring sneakers.

Also, the road past Owyhee Gulch (the seven pools) is not passible due to the earthquake as other have stated.

here_today_gone2Maui Jul 13th, 2008 07:38 PM

Owyhee Gulch is in Oregon. `Ohe`o Gulch is at Kipahulu, in east Maui


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