Hiking the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail (13 Crossings) on Maui, Hawaiʻi
Distance (Roundtrip): 2.0 miles / 3.2 km
The Makamakaʻole Falls Trail on Maui, more commonly called the 13 Crossings Trail, is a short and relatively easy day hike off Kahekili Highway that leads hikers up a winding gulch to not just one, but two different waterfalls!
That said, there are a few things to know about Makamakaʻole Gulch, including the risks associated with flash floods and the unfortunate reality of vehicle break-ins at the trailhead.
However, I wouldn’t let these things deter anyone from hiking the Makamakaʻole Stream Trail—so long as the forecast looks good!
To learn more about why I say this, I recommend reading both my thoughts under the parking section as well as my thoughts at the first stream crossing, as there are a few easy things to know in order to have a safe hike.
Makamakaʻole Falls Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail is located directly adjacent to the trailhead at the hairpin turn off Kahekili Highway.
Out of caution, consider the Makamakaʻole Falls Trailhead to be a high-crime area for petty theft, meaning you should never leave visible bags or anything valuable in your car.
In fact, some people even go so far as to leave their windows all the way down—which may not be the worst idea if it isn’t supposed to rain—especially considering the smashed glass that often litters the side of the road.
Google Maps Directions: Makamakaʻole Falls Trailhead
Hiking the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail
The Makamakaʻole Falls Trail begins on the left-hand side of the hairpin turn, where Kahekili Highway passes over Makamakaʻole Stream.
Warning
If, at this first stream crossing, the water levels look too high to cross, do NOT hike further!
The walls of Makamakaʻole Gulch only get narrower, and in years past, many hikers have been stranded in the gulch due to rising floodwaters.
That said, this same warning also applies if the forecast for the windward side of Maui is calling for heavy rain. I can speak from my own experience, when some friends and I got trapped by rising floodwaters in a different Hawaiʻi gulch, and we didn’t make it out until well after sunset because we were stuck waiting along the banks of the stream.
Please take this warning seriously!
If you know what to look for, ʻŌhiʻa ʻai—more commonly called Mountain Apple—can be seen growing along parts of the 13 Crossings Trail!
If the name of the trail didn’t make it obvious, I hope all these tedious stream crossings make it clear why hiking the Makamakaʻole Trail is a bad idea when there is a lot of rain in the forecast.
If you’re counting, this is the fifth stream crossing.
These flowers on the right-hand side of the photo below are one of a few invasive Ginger species in the islands, and they are among the most aggressive weeds attacking Hawaiʻi’s native forests.
I mention this because I always want to ask everyone to do what you can to minimize your impact when visiting other, more intact forests across Maui, like the upper elevations of Haleakalā.
This is the sixth stream crossing, and it’s where the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail enters a beautiful, short stretch of bamboo on the other side.
Within the bamboo forest, the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail passes over a handful of dry-stack rock walls. These are remnants of a traditional Hawaiian stone building technique used to mark land boundaries, create agricultural terraces (loʻi), and support trails and irrigation systems (ʻauwai).
That said, please hike this section—and anywhere you may see dry-stack rock walls—with care.
After the seventh crossing, the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail passes more rock walls, as well as this ʻAwapuhi I noticed, which is one of a handful of canoe plants that the original Polynesians brought to Hawaiʻi when they first discovered the islands.
In addition, Kukui—the tree branch visible on the upper left side of the photo below—is another of these common canoe plants along the 13 Crossings Trail.
At the 10th crossing, hikers may be forced to walk through the stream when the water is running high.
However, if Makamakaʻole Stream is low, as it is in these photos, there is a path along the rocks up the left side.
The 11th crossing is a nice sign that Makamakaʻole Stream is about to split toward the two waterfalls shortly ahead.
This 'long' stretch on the right-hand side of the stream is a nice sign that the fork in Makamakaʻole Gulch is getting close!
Makamakaʻole Stream Junction
Just before the Makamakaʻole Falls Trail reaches either waterfall, the Makamakaʻole Stream splits into a North and a South Fork.
This split is also the 12th crossing, which I believe is only counted for the North Fork of Makamakaʻole Stream—the less obvious side of the trail—as there are far more than 13 crossings up the South Fork.
North Fork of Makamakaʻole Stream
At the split, I chose to go right first to begin hiking up the North Fork, which is the best direction to go if you want to hike to both waterfalls.
I say this because there is a connection to the South Fork Trail just beyond these first few rocks.
North-South Makamakaʻole Falls Junction
This is the hidden connection between the North and South Fork of Makamakaʻole Stream, which makes it easy to continue up to South Makamakaʻole Falls on the hike back down from the north.
That said, go right here to reach North Makamakaʻole Falls, shortly ahead.
After both splits, the hike to North Makamakaʻole Falls simply follows the easiest path up the stream.
North Makamakaʻole Falls
North Makamakaʻole Falls is the lesser-known and less visited of the two waterfalls in Makamakaʻole Gulch, due largely to the fact that continuing straight across the stream at the 12th crossing is more obvious than taking the North Fork.
This is what makes North Makamakaʻole Falls such a hidden gem—not to mention, I think it’s the better of the two waterfalls to swim in!
Makamakaʻole Stream Junction
As if you decided against hiking up the North Fork, this is the more obvious trail that continues up the South Fork at the 12th crossing.
Almost immediately after crossing the section above, the trail crosses once again.
This is why simply going up the North Fork first and using the connection shown earlier is the easier of the two options.
On a different note, the South Fork of Makamakaʻole Gulch has a few more than 13 crossings, so if you are counting, you may reach 16 or 17, depending on which direction you decide to go.
This non-native Guava is fairly common throughout Makamakaʻole Gulch, and while it is considered edible, I personally don’t think it’s very good because there are a lot of very hard seeds, and they are very difficult to avoid.
This is what I believe to be the 14th crossing, but it is confusing, considering that there are still a number to come as the trail makes its way up the narrowest parts of Makamakaʻole Gulch.
Just like the North Fork, the final part of the hike to South Makamakaʻole Falls follows the streambed, which is the best part of the entire hike to look for native plants growing up the steep walls of the gulch.
South Makamakaʻole Falls
South Makamakaʻole Falls is the second and more popular of the two waterfalls, but, as you can see, the pool to get in and swim is considerably smaller and more shallow than North Makamakaʻole Falls.
In any case, I want to remind those who decide to hike up Makamakaʻole Gulch once again to turn back at any point if you notice the stream starting to swell.
Hawaiʻi streams can rise dramatically in seconds, and either waterfall would, quite literally, be the worst place to try to seek high ground if the conditions were to suddenly change.
Native Plants in Makamakaʻole Gulch
By Hawaiʻi standards, Makamakaʻole Gulch is a relatively low-elevation hike, which is why the trail is dominated by non-native, invasive species, such as Ginger, Guava, and various grasses.
However, there are a handful of native plants that hikers can look out for along the way, including ʻAkolea, ʻIeʻie, and a few native ferns along the walls of the gulch.
If you would like to learn more about these and many other native Hawaiian plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
