Polipoli Hike in Maui

Looking down on a cloud

   Driving to the mysterious Polipoli hiking trails 6,000+ft high on the southern slope of Haleakala volcano is an adventure in itself. The 4X4 dirt road to get to the campgrounds at Polipoli state park is sometimes accessible by smaller cars but not today. It wasn't too wet to drive, in fact it was so dry with each footstep little clouds of dust stirred up. But the road had degraded during wet periods forming some pretty deep holes. Driving our little sedan we decided to stop and walk the last few miles instead of risking getting stuck in some hole. I think we could have made it but it worked out in the end.

Coastal Redwoods on Maui

The trail map at the campground is a little confusing showing different trails in different colors that are all a little to similar. The wooden sign has faded a bit making the colors and trails blend even more together. We decided to try and hike down and out to a trail marker we saw way back by our car. But without better directions we headed down to the redwoods to try our luck. The draw of Polipoli is the fact that you can be transported from Hawaii to the conifer forest of northern California in a matter of minutes.

Inside the Cloud Forest, Polipoli Spring State Park

Redwoods disappearing into the mist

Hiking down from the campground and past the one cabin the blue sky turns into a hazy mist. The temperature drops as the sun slowly winks out behind the white cloud flowing through the forest. This only makes the trees here more impressive. The smell of the pines, cypress, ash, eucalyptus, and coastal redwoods combined with the mist make this place like no other in Hawaii.
 As we hiked through the trails eventually finding our way back to the car we only came across one other person, a mountain biker noisily riding down the trail towards us. Other than that only the sounds of birds calling through the cloud rang out. For people who live on Maui this is a way to teleport your senses to a far off location. And for those visiting Maui it can be a chance to see a rare side of the island very far off the beaten track.

Check out last year's Polipoli photos and adventure here