Hiking the West Lāhainā Pali Trail (Windmill Hike) on Maui, Hawaiʻi
Distance (Roundtrip): 4.6 miles / 7.4 km
Elevation Gain: 1,500 ft. / 457 m
The West Lāhainā Pali Trail is a Maui favorite, as it’s best known for being a great place to see whales during the winter months and beautiful sunsets at any time of the year!
That being said, it’s important to know that the Lāhainā Pali Trail is a fairly steep hike with little shade, which is just one more reason I prefer this adventure closer to sunset over any other time of day.
West Lāhainā Pali Trail Trailhead Parking
Parking for the western half of the Lāhainā Pali Trail is located at the Ukumehame Trailhead in a dirt parking lot off the side of Honoapiʻilani Highway just before Papalaua Beach if you’re driving from central Maui.
Out of caution, consider the West Lāhainā Pali Trailhead to be a high-crime area for petty theft, meaning you should never leave visible bags or anything valuable in your car.
Google Maps Directions: Ukumehame Trailhead
Hiking the West Lāhainā Pali Trail
From the parking area, the West Lāhainā Pali Trail starts out in the shade before climbing above the canopy on the old highway shortly after the trailhead.
Old Honoapiʻilani Highway
Soon, the Lāhaina Pali Trail will reach the Old Honoapiʻilani Highway, where you want to go right up the old road until the next turn shown below.
This is the left turn to continue hiking toward the windmills.
In the winter months, these lower sections of the trail are some of the best places to see the whales, and this is where I recommend catching the sunset, so as to only have a short hike back down to the trailhead.
As I’m sure you can tell, the Lāhainā Pali Trail is almost entirely an uphill hike, where the western half of the trail gains about 1,500 ft. (457 m) from the trailhead to the windmills.
Mokumana Gulch
Mokumana Gulch is the one-mile mark, with just over a mile to go to reach the windmills.
After Ōpūnahā Gulch, the next most notable point, you should start to see views of the windmills for the rest of the hike.
Windmill Road
The photo below is where the West Lāhainā Pali Trail meets the East Lāhainā Pali Trail that leads down toward central Maui.
The yellow sign essentially talks about trespassing up Windmill Road and the conservation efforts underway in the area.
That being said, I’ve seen Nēnē fly overhead on the Lāhainā Pali Trail, but know that the Nēnē among other protected species are in the area. Therefore, I ask that you please respect the sign and don’t trespass further up the road.
As previously mentioned, I recommend catching the sunset about a half mile or less up the trail, which is especially true in the summer months based on where the sun will be setting.
Native Plants on the Lāhainā Pali Trail
The sign at the trailhead talks about a native Wiliwili forest on the Lāhainā Pali Trail, but don’t expect to see any large Wiliwili trees on the western half of the trail. In fact, there are much better places along the drive around Kaupō to see large overstory Wiliwili trees.
That being said, much of the Lāhainā Pali Trail is dominated by non-native/ invasive Fountain Grass. However, if you look carefully along the hike, you can find a variety of native Hawaiian plants, which include ʻIlima, ʻUhaloa, and the Hoary Abutilon shown below.
If you’d like to learn more about these plants and tons of other native plants from across the islands, I encourage you to check out my separate post linked below.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
