Hoapili Trail - Trailhead — Attraction in Maui

I'm going to condense a lot of the good guidance/suggestions made here but then provide my own take on the terrain and safety. If you plan to go the entire way to Kanaio Beach, try to get to the trailhead early: not only do you have a better chance of getting a parking spot, but it will also be much cooler. I showed up at 6 am and the parking lot was already half full. Yes bring water and splurge on a backpack if you can. Why a backpack? Stumbling is almost inevitable here and you'll want both hands free. Wear shoes that YOU feel comfortable in. Note that this is slightly different advice from many other posts and here's why: yes, wearing hiking boots will protect your feet, but the biggest issue I saw was people stumbling from being distracted (taking pics, texting, etc). I wore hiking sandals, stayed relatively alert, and did fine. The terrain isn't just one type: sometimes it's fine gravel, sometimes it's bulky coral, often it's "ankle breaker" lava stones. Stay alert and watch the terrain and you'll be fine Goats are your friends: most actually run from you but I noticed one was holding its ground in the middle of the path and a lady turned back because of it. I just didn't stare it down and walked past it fine. Speaking of goats, careful on the drive in, especially at dawn/dusk: the goats are black, the lava is black, and I almost hit a baby goat that decided to run across the road at the last moment. Spare yourself a ruined trip and be alert on...

The road to the trailhead is narrow in places and only wide enough one car. On one trip we rode scooters to park. The trailhead has 2-porta-potties and a large garbage can. The parking lot is lava and sand, with plenty of parking. The views from the parking lot are not that good, so you have to walk the trail to the south to see the splendid scenery. The hike is hot with little shade, so bring lots of water and sunscreen.

There are two branches to the trail one that stays close to the ocean and one that is inland a short distance. The scenery is stark and rugged made up of jagged lava rock and all kinds of formations. There are a number of wonderful small beaches to stop at and get some shade from the trees and even get wet. However, none of the beaches seem safe for swimming.

Hike out to the site of the old lighthouse and sit here and watch the Pacific Ocean in all it's splendor. There are coves cut out of the lava rock by the water, splashing waves 50 feet tall, sheer lava cliffs dropping to the ocean, and coral...

Keep going till you reach the bay with little white rock huts!

The rocks are pretty sharp along the whole way so I recommend some good shoes (I have some tevas and they worked perfectly). When there’s a little side trail going to the right (before the light house thingy) take it! It’ll lead to some beautiful views of cliffs.

Once you make it to the bay, there are two ways to get back. You can go the way you came or you’ll see a path further ahead with white rocks on either side leading you into the rocks. If you follow those white rocks, it cuts into the original King’s Road. If you want to continue on to the next bay, turn right and go maybe another mile. If you want to go back to the parking lot, turn left and it’ll eventually join back with the path you started on.

We spent a couple hours here and really enjoyed the hike! We were the only ones most of the time once we made it to the lighthouse thingy (which is just a...