West Lāhainā Pali Trailhead — Attraction in Maui

Be warned: this is a challenging trail. It shows as a 4ish miles out and back route but it will take you at least 3 hours to finish. The path is full of rocks and boulders that you will be navigating throughout. There are a lot of loose rocks that make finding solid footing difficult. If you are coming from the west side you will not see the windmills until the very end, but you will have a spectacular view of the ocean and valley on the off chance you can pry your eyes off the treacherous path. Wear good shoes that allow ankle stability and bring lots of water. I highly recommend starting before the sun rises to stay cool for the uphill and so the sun can be on your back on the way down. It rained for a few minutes on the way down which caused the rocks to be more slippery. Parking was ample since we went super early but it’s right off the highway. The top is beautiful and such an exhilarating sight...

I hiked Lahaina Pali from the west trailhead, starting @ 7:00AM in January. GO EARLY or at the end of the day, or you will cook. Even if you start early, load up on the sunscreen and bring a good hat. This trail is super exposed to the sun. I would categorize the trail as moderately technical, with quite a bit of light scrambling required. You can power hike it but it's not runnable (in my opinion) going up or down. This trail is not small-children friendly, and I'd be cautious if you have any mobility concerns. The ocean views are excellent and I saw a ton of whale activity. In the morning you'll get fantastic light and can see the sun rising behind Haleakala, and if you go at the end of the day you'll get epic sunset views. Not sure it's worth it...

When we arrived at the trail head the parking lot was almost empty so there was plenty of room to park. Once you start hiking you have an unobstructed, beautiful view of the ocean. Sunscreen is a must for this hike because once you leave the trail head there is no shade. I would definitely recommend bringing water on this hike as it gets fairly hot. The path is rocky however as long as you stay on the trail there aren’t any lose rocks. When we were hiking the trail it was very quiet and we only saw three other groups. All in all I really enjoyed this hike for its beautiful views and slightly challenging...