Walkers, hikers know the Maui away from hotels

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

Barrie Lindsay and Donna Bartholomew of Kihei enjoy the sweeping views on the Waihe'e Ridge Trail. Tim Harley

Today, Maui continues its role as a siren to well-heeled visitors. Those looking for a more cozy experience will find an abundance of bed and breakfasts, but few are in the budget range. For frugal travelers, the best bet remains a package that includes a modest hotel or condo equipped with a kitchen, usually in Kihei, that can serve as a base of operations for wide-ranging adventures.

Plan an early departure for your weekend getaway to Maui. The reason: Friday night is Art Night in Lahaina, and that means all 28 galleries in town throw open their doors for a festive evening of food, music and appearances by artists.

It's cooler to browse Front Street shops at night. While it's true a lot of the art is garish and commercialized, enjoy the splash of color. And don't worry about salespeople: Galleries are busy and it's easy to get lost in the crowd. Besides, they expect you to be there, eat their pupus and enjoy.

While cruising Front Street, visit the free Wo Hing Temple and Museum, now open at night. The museum is a restored house featuring Chinese art and artifacts from the early part of the 20th century. The museum's theater shows fascinating films shot by Thomas Edison when he visited Hawai'i at the turn of the century.

If you didn't fill up on gallery pupus, you'll find tasty dinners under $10 at Aloha Mixed Plate on Front Street near the Lahaina Cannery Mall, BJ's Chicago Pizzeria on Front Street in the middle of town or Lahaina Coolers on Dickenson Street.

For a funkier shopping experience, head to the former sugar plantation town of Pa'ia on the windward coast, where patchouli, pakalolo and suntan oil fill the air in a pungent mix. Although the sugar mill was in operation until just last fall, Pa'ia long ago abandoned its mill town image and has attracted an eclectic population of neo-hippies, New Agers, entrepreneurs, windsurfers, tourists and locals.

Make a day out of it by packing swimsuit, bodyboard and towel; the beach is only yards off the main drag.

Head east on Hana Highway a few miles past Kahului Airport on the way to Hana. Park in the municipal lot on the mauka side of the highway at the entrance to town. Be careful as you cross the two-lane highway to Lower Pa'ia Park. Beyond the line of ironwood trees lies an often-deserted white-sand beach, good for bodysurfing, and nowhere near as crowded as Baldwin Beach just a short stretch down the road.

The park has restrooms and a shower, so when you've had enough sun and surf, wash the sand off your feet, stow your beach stuff in the trunk of your rental car then walk a few steps to the heart of town.

Cool off with a treat from Aloha Island Shave Ice, then explore the sherbet-colored shops and old-fashioned storefronts with names like Lotus Moon, Enchantress and Moonbow Tropics that line Hana Highway and Baldwin Avenue.

Other favorites include Big Bugga Sportswear, wear you can find T-shirts up to size 10X, Mana Foods, a health foods grocery, and Natural Impressions Gyotaku Gallery, all on Baldwin Avenue, and Paia Mercantile, Maui Hands and Maui Crafts Guild on Hana Highway.

Reasonably priced fresh fish is a rare catch these days, but not in Pa'ia. Plan lunch or dinner at any of the dozen or so places to eat in town. Share picnic tables indoors at the tiny Pa'ia Fishmarket on the corner of Hana and Baldwin. The menu features fish and chips for $8.95, ono or mahi burgers for $6 and a generous serving of seafood pasta for $14.95.

Too crowded? Walk across the street to Milagros, where you can sit out on the sidewalk or dine inside on fresh 'ahi tacos for $8.25. Others choices include Jacques, Pa'ia Bistro & Bar or farther up Baldwin, the Moana bakery and cafe.

Consider Pa'ia for a pitstop on your way to Hana. Stop for a caffeine fix at Anthony's Coffee Co., pick up a picnic lunch for two for $21.95 at Picnics or gorge yourself on Charley's famed eggs benedict for $8.50-$9.25 and omelets for $7.75. If musubi is more your speed, check out Nagata's Store, Minit Stop or Pa'ia General Store.

Don't want to spend hundreds on a helicopter tour? The Waihe'e Ridge Trail will transport you high into the West Maui Mountains and show you stunning mountain landscapes, breathtaking ocean vistas and plunging waterfalls without having to leave the ground. While you need to be in reasonably good shape to undertake the trek, the rewards are worth the effort.

The trailhead is at the Boy Scout's Camp Maluhia off Kahekili Highway, the winding road on Maui's rugged northwest coast. With the trail meticulously maintained by the Boy Scouts and marked every half-mile, much of the path is a grassy walk in the park. Along the way, you'll see a variety of native ferns, 'ohia trees and native birds.

The hike is a 5-mile round trip — an easy half-day adventure. Enjoy your pack lunch at a picnic table nestled in a grassy area at the top end of the trail.

If you prefer an ocean excursion, the Pacific Whale Foundation Eco-Adventures is offering Hawai'i residents a $25 summer special on all of its cruises. Each adult can bring one child up to age 12 for free (additional children are $12.50 each).

You can travel to Molokini and Turtle Arches on the double-deck catamaran Ocean Spirit for snorkeling and a guided reef tour, or take the sailing catamaran Manute'a for a Lana'i dolphin encounter and snorkeling.

If you want to pack it all in one cruise, try the new Molokini-Lana'i Wild Dolphin and Snorkel Adventure on the new catamaran Ocean Odyssey. This cruise includes snorkeling at both Molokini and Lana'i.

All of these cruises include a continental breakfast, lunch and cold refreshments all day, with snorkel gear provided.

The deal is good through Nov. 30; reservations are required 24 hours in advance.

For an even cheaper snorkel adventure, head over to Makena's 'Ÿhihi-Kina'u Natural Area Reserve and take a dip in a hidden bay filled with reef fish. It's a bit of a challenge to reach this spot, but that's half the fun. It's where Maui's last lava flow meets the ocean.

The trailhead is off Makena Road between utility poles No. 17 and No. 18 (but note that No. 18 has lost its number). Wear shoes for the milelong hike over lava and don't leave any valuables in your car.

If hiking isn't your thing, try any of the beaches at the Wailea Resort. Each beach is graced with soft white sand embraced by rocky arms that are magnets to fish, and there's plenty of public parking. If you're in West Maui, try the snorkeling at Kapalua Bay. Snorkeling gear can be rented for about $6 a day at any number of easy-to-find shops.

When Haleakala is mentioned, is your reaction: "Been there, done that"? If so, you may be overlooking some of Upcountry Maui's other charms.

Even if you haven't visited the Crater District of Haleakala National Park, you'll want to skip it this summer while major road construction is under way, creating long traffic delays. Instead, choose the road less traveled to the Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area.

Polipoli, at the 6,200-foot elevation in the fog belt of the Kula Forest Reserve, is almost 10 miles above Kula on Waipoli Road off Kekaulike Avenue (Highway 377). The one-lane paved road snakes up the mountainside. You don't need a four-wheel-drive, but you may want to reconsider taking on the last four miles of rutted dirt road. (Eh, no worry, it's a rental car!) Overall, it's about a 45-minute drive to the end of the road.

The payoff is a small park with picnic tables and barbecue pits snuggled in the middle of a conifer forest. You don't have to be in peak condition to enjoy the park's extensive trail system, but be prepared for wet and cool weather. There are sweeping views of Central Maui, Kaho'olawe, Moloka'i and Lana'i in clear weather. A short hike will take you to a ridge with drop-dead views of the Maui's dry Kaupo Coast and the Big Island, if it's clear.

Even if you decide not to go to the end of the road, there are plenty of places to pull over on the way up and picnic in open fields with views of Kula and Central Maui below.

For another picnic spot, take Kula Highway to Tedeschi Vineyards, Maui's only commercial winery, in 'Ulupalakua. Free tours of the winery and vineyards end in the tasting room. (Friendly advice: If you like the wine, wait and buy it at Longs — it's a lot cheaper.) Enjoy your feast and toss a Frisbee beneath 100-year-old trees.

On your way up the mountain, stop at the Pukalani Terrace Center off the Old Haleakala Highway to buy picnic provisions. There's Subway, KFC, Foodland and a few other takeout restaurants. Or head up the highway a bit and get some chili chicken or other local grinds at Pukalani Superette.

If you're Upcountry late in the day, indulge in sunset cocktails at the picnic tables at Rice Park, near the junction of Kekaulike Avenue and Kula Highway. (Unlike O'ahu, alcohol is allowed in county parks, but not in the parking lots.) Also, scrounge some cardboard boxes for the kids to slide down the grassy slopes.

Neighbor Island Editor Christie Wilson contributed to this report.

Activities for the health-conscious

If your fitness regimen refuses to take a vacation, you'll find lots of opportunities for golf, tennis, swimming and power walking:

• It's always better to make a tee time, but walk-ons are possible at the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course, especially in the afternoons. Green fees for Hawai'i residents are $15 on weekends; golf carts are $8 per person. The course provides postcard views of Haleakala, the north shore and the West Maui Mountains, and several of the holes hug the shoreline. Rates also are reasonable at the Elleair course in Kihei, the Sandalwood in Waikapu and Maui's newest course, the Dunes at Maui Lani.
• Tennis players may want to try a cluster of six courts that many locals don't even know about. The public courts, part of Waipu'ilani Beach Park, often are mistaken for private property. They're in North Kihei between the shore and a line of South Kihei Road condominiums north of Waipu'ilani Road. They're several hundred yards away from the park's small parking lot on Waipu'ilani Road. With their proximity to the ocean, these courts are a gorgeous place to bat a few balls around. However, there is one caution: There is no lighting for night play. Other public tennis courts can be found at Wells Park in Wailuku, the Lahaina Civic Center, Hali'imaile Park and the Kula Community Center.
• For an inspiring walk or jog, find the Wailea Point Coastal Trail, a 1.5-mile path with ocean views on the makai side of the Wailea Resort. Enter the trail at Polo Beach where the Wailea Point Historical Interpretive Site lists the names of the native Hawaiian plants growing along the way. A brisk walk will take an hour. The Ka'anapali Resort has its own oceanfront path. This is a well-used 3-mile-long trail connecting all of the Ka'anapali Beach hotels.

In Central Maui, try the popular jogging path at Keopuolani Park, which is at Ka'ahumanu and Kanaloa avenues near Kahului Harbor. The path loops around Maui's largest park, offering a rolling landscape and views of the ocean, with playgrounds for keiki.

• If running isn't your thing, jog on over to a public swimming pool. The county maintains an outstanding set of heated swimming pools — free to the public. The relatively new aquatic centers in Kihei, Pukalani and Lahaina have separate pools just for little ones, and the one in Lahaina even has a giant mushroom-shaped fountain.

Details, details, details

• For information on Maui hiking trails: (808) 873-3508; www.hawaiitrails.org
• Pacific Whale Foundation: (808) 879-8811; www.pacificwhale.org
• Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area: www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dsp/txtmaui.html; 587-0300, O'ahu; (808) 984-8109, Maui
• Haleakala National Park: (808) 572-4400; www.nps.gov/hale
• Tedeschi Vineyards: (808) 878-6058; www.mauiwine.com
• Art Night and other Lahaina events: LahainaTown Action Committee; (808) 667-9175; www.visitlahaina.com
• For information on Wo Hing Temple and other historical sites in Lahaina: Lahaina Restoration Foundation; (808) 661-3262; www.lahainarestoration.org
• Waiehu Municipal Golf Course: For tee times, call (808) 270-7400; pro shop (808) 244-5934. Elleair Maui Golf Club, (808) 874-0777. Sandalwood Golf Course, (808) 242-4653. Dunes at Maui Lani, (808) 873-0422.