Hiking the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail on Maui, Hawaiʻi
Distance (Roundtrip): 4.4 miles / 7.1 km
Elevation Gain: 1,400 ft. / 427 m
With its stunning views of the West Maui Mountains and Haleakalā to the east, the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail on Maui is one of the most beautiful, but also most popular hikes on the island.
That being said, the best advice I can give is to start hiking early, as the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail is one of the busiest trails on Maui.
Furthermore, if you arrive any later than when the trail opens, you’re likely not going to find parking at the trailhead, meaning you’ll likely have to park up to 0.8 miles (1.3 km) away in the overflow parking lot.
Waiheʻe Ridge Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail is located in a small parking lot off of Kahekili Highway at the base of the trail, which typically fills up shortly after the trail opens.
For this reason, I recommend arriving when the trail opens, as mentioned previously, or you will not only be struggling to find parking but also hiking a much more crowded trail than if you had started early.
Additionally, when traffic backs up on the narrow road that leads to the trailhead, turning around to drive back down can be a challenge.
Google Maps Directions: Waiheʻe Ridge Trailhead
Waiheʻe Ridge Overflow Parking
If you can’t find parking near trailhead, overflow parking for the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail can be found just off of Kahekili Highway, outside of the gate that regulates the hours for the trail.
However, as previously mentioned, parking in the overflow lot adds an additional 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the hike each way and an additional 400 ft. (122 m) of elevation gain.
Hiking the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail
The Waiheʻe Ridge Trail is a nearly constant uphill hike, ascending roughly 1,400 ft. (427 m) over the course of 2.2 miles (3.5 km).
For this reason, I recommend packing at least 2-3L of water per person, as I saw people hiking of all ages without water—from families with children to senior citizens.
In any case, the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail begins up a steep service road before branching off on the actual trail, located just 0.1 miles (0.2 km) ahead.
Then, once at the split in the photo below, turn left to continue up Waiheʻe Ridge.
Eventually, the trail comes to a fence, which is the start of the switchbacks through the Cook Pine-Eucalyptus-Strawberry Guava forest.
From the viewpoint at the bench, you can see Makamakaʻole Falls, located just to the north.
Waiheʻe Valley Viewpoint
For many hikers, this first platform at about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) up Waiheʻe Ridge is a popular turnaround point.
However, I highly encourage continuing on to the summit, as Lanilili is one of the most beautiful viewpoints on Maui.
In my opinion, the first 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the first platform should be considered the easy 'half' of Waiheʻe Ridge.
By this, I mean that the remaining 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the summit of Puʻu Lanilili gets a bit more challenging, as the trail gets steeper.
Shortly after the first platform, Waiheʻe Ridge begins ascending a series of switchbacks up to a small meadow just below the summit.
After the meadow, which may or may not be muddy, the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail climbs a few more switchbacks that lead up to the summit.
Puʻu Lanilili
According to the USGS, the summit of the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail, also known as Puʻu Lanilili, is 2,563 ft. (781 m), or about halfway up the West Maui Mountains (Puʻu Kukui).
Native Plants on the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail
Once above the lower Eucalyptus forest, the Waiheʻe Ridge Trail is one of the better hikes on Maui to find a variety of native Hawaiian plants. Some of these include ʻŌhiʻa lehua, Naupaka, Hōʻawa, Kāmakahala, Uki Grass, and Koa, to truly only name a few.
All said, if you would like to learn more about these and tons of other native plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my post.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
