# Can you make a complete circle to Hana?



## bobbornstein (Nov 9, 2007)

Just looking for the latest update. Sections of the road have been closed in the past and I was wondering what was the latest status? TIA


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## BonBiniGirl (Nov 9, 2007)

When we were there in May, the road was closed a few miles past the Seven Sacred Pools, but I am not sure if there have been changes over the summer and fall.


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## JoeMid (Nov 9, 2007)

Not passable last July.


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## rnsnake (Nov 9, 2007)

Still closed as of Sept. 11th.


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## AKE (Nov 9, 2007)

Why is the road closed?


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## Icarus (Nov 9, 2007)

My brother tried to do it a couple of weeks ago (I told him not to) and the road is closed at the back entrance to the national park.

-David


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## philemer (Nov 10, 2007)

You can get to the 7 sacred pools & Lindbergh's grave but not much farther.

Has Maui County published a "completed by" date for all the repairs?

Phil


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## Mimi39 (Nov 10, 2007)

Before going off on any of these kind of roads like the one beyond Hana or some at the Volcano Nat'l Park check with your rental car company to see if it is permitted in your rental contract.


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## easyrider (Nov 11, 2007)

The road to Hana is way over rated in our opinion. We wont do this road trip again. We would maybe go to the garden of eden then turn back unless the road reopens and you can make the loop or drive in from the other side. At least we can say we did it. There is some great sceenery on this road but theres simalar sceenery that doesnt take all day to do. Hana sucks compared to other small comunities that you could drive to in 20 minutes. When you get there you will wonder why did we drive all this way, for THIS ? I felt like a lucky idiot after doing this trip.

Spend your day some other way.


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## DeniseM (Nov 11, 2007)

easysider said:


> The road to Hana is way over rated in our opinion. We wont do this road trip again. We would maybe go to the garden of eden then turn back unless the road reopens and you can make the loop or drive in from the other side. At least we can say we did it. There is some great sceenery on this road but theres simalar sceenery that doesnt take all day to do. Hana sucks compared to other small comunities that you could drive to in 20 minutes. When you get there you will wonder why did we drive all this way, for THIS ? I felt like a lucky idiot after doing this trip.
> 
> Spend your day some other way.



That's the thing....the little town of Hana just happens to be on the route - visiting the town itself is not the point of the trip at all, in fact we never even stop there.  They whole point of the trip is all the fantastic sightseeing along the way.  Did you stop and walk around very many places?  Our favorite place is the park with the black sand beach - Waianapanapa  We like to stop there for a picnic lunch and a brief swim.


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## SuzanneSLO (Nov 11, 2007)

AKE said:


> Why is the road closed?



I beleive that there were some landslides from the October 2006 earthquake that were still not clear a year later.  -- Suzanne


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## easyrider (Nov 11, 2007)

DeniseM said:


> That's the thing....the little town of Hana just happens to be on the route - visiting the town itself is not the point of the trip at all, in fact we never even stop there.  They whole point of the trip is all the fantastic sightseeing along the way.  Did you stop and walk around very many places?  Our favorite place is the park with the black sand beach - Waianapanapa  We like to stop there for a picnic lunch and a brief swim.



Hi Denise
We stoped to see all we could. Our best stop was the garden of eden 30 mins befor Hana with the parrot guy and the coconut stand 30 mins past Hana. We were really disappointed to have to turn back because the road was clossed. The Hana Hwy is very senic but also too long a drive for us. We spent probally 11 hours or more doing this and it was just too much for one day.

By the way, hows SF bay.


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## pharmgirl (Nov 11, 2007)

We now stay the night in hana and go back the next day.


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## DeniseM (Nov 12, 2007)

easysider said:


> By the way, hows SF bay.



The bay is pretty much a mess with most of the bridge area polluted and also north up the coast quite a ways.  What stupidity!

Here's a map showing the location of the collision and also how the oil has spread.


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## DavidnRobin (Nov 14, 2007)

I would recommend the book "Maui Revealed - The Ultimate Guidebook" - you may have found a few more things around Hana (and on the way to/from) that are not easy to find.

I was in Las Vegas during the SF Bay spill - and just got home to find out about it - I hope some people are put in jail.

We will be at WKORV in 3.5 weeks - woohoo!


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## Luanne (Nov 14, 2007)

DavidnRobin said:


> I was in Las Vegas during the SF Bay spill - and just got home to find out about it - I hope some people are put in jail.



There's still a lot of finger pointing at this stage.


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## DeniseM (Nov 14, 2007)

I also really like Driving and Discovering Maui and Molokai which specifically is a driving/touring guide.


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## formerhater (Nov 15, 2007)

The road to Hana is definitely about the journey and not the destination.  I do wish the road were open all the way around because I do find that we tire of the road on the return trip and it's fun to see the scenery change as you make a complete circle around the island (or at least the eastern part).  Let's hope they fix that road one of these days.


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## easyrider (Nov 16, 2007)

We were told of a local access only road, that is a dirt road with major ruts that we could try from behind the monastary somewhere. The people at the coconut stand 30 minutes away from Hana didnt recomend us trying because of the type of the car we were in, but did say that since it didnt rain that we could make it if we had to. If you were in a truck or 4x4 I think you could do it easily if you can find it since this road is a local secret.


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## Tiger (Nov 16, 2007)

I beg to differ on the opinions of Hana.  We've been there twice.  Once for a week and once for three days.  Both stays were "heavenly".  Each time we rented one of the cottages near the water.  We took hikes in the area, rode horses, swam and were generally pampered.  Very nice.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Nov 16, 2007)

formerhater said:


> The road to Hana is definitely about the journey and not the destination.  I do wish the road were open all the way around because I do find that we tire of the road on the return trip and it's fun to see the scenery change as you make a complete circle around the island (or at least the eastern part).  Let's hope they fix that road one of these days.



Personally, I enjoyed the drive beyond Hana (and the Seven Pools) much more than the drive to Hana.  I thought the drive along the cliffs was spectacular, made even more exciting by the lack of guardrails.


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## easyrider (Nov 16, 2007)

easysider said:


> We were told of a local access only road, that is a dirt road with major ruts that we could try from behind the monastery somewhere. The people at the coconut stand 30 minutes away from Hana didn't recommend us trying because of the type of the car we were in, but did say that since it didn't rain that we could make it if we had to. If you were in a truck or 4x4 I think you could do it easily if you can find it since this road is a local secret.



Looking at the satellite map of the Hana Hwy I cant see how to make the loop unless the secret road is way above on the hill and crosses the National Park. There's no way it could be right on the coastline because of the cliffs. It doesn't matter to me anyway since we have drove it for 11 hours and will NEVER do it again. Yes, it is beautiful but it is way too long for a day trip. There are not enough places to pull over to see some of the waterfalls and when you try, it seems that other cars have the choice parking spots on the road side and the cars behind you are on you back bumper wanting to pass. 

We should get a tee shirt or at least a sticker for our effort. 

Hana Hwy Survivor !!!!!


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## rickandcindy23 (Nov 16, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Personally, I enjoyed the drive beyond Hana (and the Seven Pools) much more than the drive to Hana.  I thought the drive along the cliffs was spectacular, made even more exciting by the lack of guardrails.



The ocean side of the road is a little scary on that north route.   We drove the road near the airport toward the north.  I would drive from Lahaina north next time.  At least Rick drives a fire truck for a living and is not a white knuckle driver.

I thought their attempt to keep you from falling off of the cliff was interesting, though.  They put a short curb of tar that is supposed to keep you safe.   I would never drive on that side of the road again.  Not that the cliff side was much better, with the jagged rocks that could easily scratch the rental car.  

It was a beautiful drive, but very hair-raising.  

The drive all the way through Hana and continuing was almost as bad as the cliff drive.  There are some spots where the road is very narrow and is full of ruts and potholes.  Geez, Maui is a wild place.


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## easyrider (Nov 16, 2007)

AKE said:


> Why is the road closed?



A bridge was damaged in an earthquake near Kipahulu about 13 miles or 35 minutes from Hana and is baricaded off with concrete barrier blocks.


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## kingjoey (Nov 16, 2007)

*I don't think they'll reopen road in the foreseeable future.*

When we were there in October, a local told us that there are no plans to fix and reopen the road. They don't want tourists on that part of the road, so their logic is "Why spend money to fix it?".


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## Icarus (Nov 16, 2007)

kingjoey said:


> When we were there in October, a local told us that there are no plans to fix and reopen the road. They don't want tourists on that part of the road, so their logic is "Why spend money to fix it?".



And you believed that?

-David


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## kingjoey (Nov 16, 2007)

Icarus said:


> And you believed that?
> 
> -David



Why not? Makes perfect sense to me. How long has it been closed? Why hasn't it been fixed yet? Why aren't they even working on it? 

I know if this road brought in any additional revenue, it would be fixed PRONTO!!!!


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## Icarus (Nov 16, 2007)

Since it sounds logical, the fact that one local told you that makes it true?

There's a couple of communities that are effectively cut off from the rest of the island because of that road closure. Instead of the relatively short drive through Kula to get into town, they have a several hour ride through Hana to get into town now.

I'm sure it has a lot more to do with the fact that that part of the road is inaccessible to heavy equipment and it would be very difficult and incredibly expensive to replace the damaged bridge and stabilize the cliffs above the road and to fix the three other areas undermined by the EQ. But they are working on it.

http://www.hawaiihighways.com/photos-Piilani-Hwy.htm
http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=28502
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Oct/15/br/br8743126950.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Oct/15/br/br4021835796.html

But you go ahead and believe that because one local told you that. 

-David


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## kingjoey (Nov 17, 2007)

*Dave, you keep us posted*



Icarus said:


> Since it sounds logical, the fact that one local told you that makes it true?
> 
> There's a couple of communities that are effectively cut off from the rest of the island because of that road closure. Instead of the relatively short drive through Kula to get into town, they have a several hour ride through Hana to get into town now.
> 
> ...



Obviously, you know much more about this than a one time visitor that I am. But the local that told me this made valid points and after reading your links, all it sounds like is politicians are working on it. Good luck with that. If I was a local, I would worry about how and who will eventually pay for something that is "incredibly exxpensive" and won't last long?? I think you know the answer to that.... LOCALS, unless they open a few toll booths???? Did anyone else come up with that idea?


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## gstepic (Nov 18, 2007)

*We were told it was temporarily closed*

We stayed at a B&B and the owner said the road had been open but there was a recent rock slide that closed the road. We were there last week.

I was a little disappointed in the road the Hana journey but we turned back at the 23 mile mark so there was much we did not see. I will talk more of our impressions in the next week or so.

Gary


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## bobbornstein (Nov 25, 2007)

*Road to Hana - the back way*

Just retuned from Maui. What a great time :whoopie: 

Traveled the normal (clockwise direction) from Paia to Hana and was able to drive all the way to O'heo Gulch (The Seven Sacred Pools). They now charge $10/car to park. There was a sign that said the road was closed 3 miles ahead. We spoke with a police officer who confirmed that it would be at least another year before they would consider reopening it. We did not confirm the actual way the road was closed but others did confirm it was closed with road blocks and that vehicles could not pass through. 

We stayed over night at the Hana Kai - in one word Excellent. Any questions just post a reply.

Aloha


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## Mimi (Dec 6, 2007)

It's a shame to hear there is a lack of interest in repairing the road  past Hana. That will stop us. We have taken the incredible journey to Hana three times-all the way around-and I am not excited to drive one way and back again in the dark. We enjoyed heading to Haleakala to watch the sunset before returning to Kehei.


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