Where Is the Pipiwai Trail?

What mile marker is the Pīpīwai Trail?

Around 42. The park entrance sits just past the bridge over ʻOheʻo Gulch on the highway south of Hāna, and mile marker 42 is the number people use for it. There is no marker labelled with the trail name, so what you are watching for is the gulch, the bridge, and a brown park sign.

The distance figure is more reliable than the marker. Kīpahulu is 12 miles past Hāna town, about half an hour of driving. Reset your trip odometer as you leave Hāna and you will know when to start looking.

Why do the mile markers count backwards after Hāna?

Because you change roads. The Hāna Highway numbers climb all the way out from Kahului and top out around Hāna. South of town you are on a different route number, and its markers are counted from the far end, so they descend as you drive toward Kīpahulu.

The practical version: past Hāna, falling numbers mean you are going the right way. Drivers who have spent three hours watching numbers rise see 45, then 44, and conclude they have overshot and turned themselves around. Watch them fall to 42 and start looking for the bridge.

What GPS coordinates should I use?

Use 20.662, -156.04481. That is the parking area, which is where you actually want the car to stop.

You will also find 20.66868, -156.05261 published for this trail. It is not wrong, it is just a different thing: roughly two thirds of a mile northwest of the lot, up in the gulch where the trail runs. Navigate to it and your phone will try to route you to a point with no road access. Pin the lot, not the trail.

Easier still, search for the Kīpahulu Visitor Center by name and save the result offline. Searching for the trail by name sometimes returns the middle of the route rather than the entrance, which is the same problem in a different wrapper.

What does the entrance look like from the road?

Modest. Coming south from Hāna the road runs through pasture and open coast, then crosses a high concrete bridge over ʻOheʻo Gulch, where you can see the stream stepping down toward the sea on your left. The park entrance is immediately after, on the ocean side, marked with the standard brown National Park Service sign and an entrance station that is not always staffed.

Turn in and the lot is right there, with the visitor center building beside it. The Pīpīwai Trail trailhead is not in the lot. It is across the highway on the mountain side, with its own sign that is easy to miss from a car. If the road starts climbing away from the coast and the signs stop, you have gone past. It is less than a mile back.

Will my phone work when I get there?

No. Service is unreliable from Hāna onward and effectively gone at Kīpahulu. AllTrails describes coverage at the trail as spotty / poor, and the district page says the same. There is no wifi at the visitor center.

Do the downloading in Hāna, where you still have a signal: the offline map area for east Maui, your park pass or receipt, and any reservation confirmation. If you need to make a call from the district, the visitor center staff can help during opening hours, and the park number is 808-572-4400, though you will need to be somewhere with service to dial it.

How far is it from the rest of Maui?

Far enough that it decides your day. Hāna is 12 miles up the road, Kahului airport is 70, and Kāʻanapali is 92 miles and four hours in each direction. This is the last stop on the Hāna Highway for most people, which is why the drive matters as much as the hike.

Kīpahulu is not a town. There is no gas, no restaurant, and no store past Hāna, so the practical geography is simple: whatever you need, you buy it 12 miles before you arrive.

Questions

What mile marker is the Pīpīwai Trail?

Around mile marker 42, south of Hāna, just past the bridge over ʻOheʻo Gulch. The markers count down after Hāna, so falling numbers mean you are getting closer.

Where is the Pīpīwai Trail?

In the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park on the southeast coast of Maui, 12 miles past Hāna at the far end of the Hāna Highway.

What are the GPS coordinates for the Pīpīwai Trail?

Use 20.662, -156.04481 for the parking lot. The 20.66868, -156.05261 pin you may also see is on the trail itself, up the gulch, with no road access.

How far past Hāna is the Pīpīwai Trail?

12 miles, about half an hour of driving. Reset the trip odometer leaving Hāna.

Is there cell service at the Pīpīwai Trail?

Effectively none. Coverage is spotty / poor past Hāna. Download offline maps and your park pass before you leave town.

Can you find the Pīpīwai trailhead without GPS?

Yes. Follow the highway south from Hāna for 12 miles, cross the bridge over ʻOheʻo Gulch, and turn in at the brown park sign on the ocean side. The trail starts across the road from the lot.