Commercial Guides to the Road to Hana
First and foremost, you will most likely want to obtain some form of guide dedicated to the Road to Hana. Paperback books, GPS Units, CD's, etc are available. Hana Highway Mile by Mile, Maui Revealed, Moon, Trailblazer and Frommer's all touch on the subject in print, especially the first two. You can also get the CD format. GPS units (rented locally on Maui) are also available. There are also guides for the iPhone, iPad or iPod, the Maui GPS Tour Guide, or Maui-Road to Hana GPS Guide.
Most visitors plan to drive the Road to Hana in one day. In many cases those who don't plan the stops along the way regret spending too much time in some places and not having enough time for worthier objectives. To help guide the planning, the following list rates many stops along the Road to Hana. The higher the rating the more likely to enjoy the attraction. A good approach to driving the Road to Hana is going all the way beyond Hana and stopping on the way back. Plan to drive to the South part of Haleakala National Park and hike to Makahiku & Waimoku Falls. Make sure you don't miss Wailua Falls, Hamoa Beach, and Waianapanapa Wayside Park on the way back. The source of the list below in Hana Highway Mile by Mile.
Note - the Hawaiian word below - KAPU - below means taboo. In this use, consider it to mean the access is forbidden and denied.
Highway 36 & Pa‘ia Town
Pa‘ia Town (3)
Ho‘okipa Beach Park (3)
Highway 360 - The Road to Hana
MM is Mile Marker
Twin Falls Trail (5) MM 2
Na‘ili‘ili-haele (4 Waterfalls Hike) [KAPU]
Painted Bark Eucalyptus Trees (4)
Waikamoi Ridge Trail (Ko‘olau Forest Reserve) (8) MM 9
Waikamoi Falls (4 - Seasonal) MM 9
Garden of Eden Botanical Arboretum (9) MM 10
Lower & Upper Puohokamoa Falls (7 & 8 respectively) [both falls are closed to the public as of March 2008] MM 11, 12
Haipua‘ena Falls (4)
Kaumahina State Wayside Park (8) MM 12
Honomanu Bay Lookout (6) MM 14
Punalau Valley Falls (7)
Honomanu Bay Road (2)
Various Lookouts of the Highway (10)
Nua‘ailua Bay & Scenic Lookout (6)
Ke‘anae Arboretum (7) MM 17
Ke‘anae Peninsula & Village (7) MM 17
Ching’s Pond (Sapphire Pools) (5)
Ke‘anae Peninsula Lookout (7) MM 17.5
Wailua Town & Lower Waikani Falls (3) MM 20, 21
Wailua Valley Wayside Park (6) MM 20, 21
Upper Waikani (Three Bears) Falls (9) MM 21.5
Wailuaiki Falls (5)
Pua‘a Ka‘a State Wayside Park (5) [undergoing repairs to facilities] MM 22
Upper Hanawi Falls (7)
Makapipi Falls (6)
Nahiku Road & Landing (10)MM 25
Ula‘ino Road
Ka‘eleku Caverns (6) MM 31
Kahanu Garden & Pi‘ilani Heiau (6)
Helele‘ike‘oha Falls (Blue Pool) [KAPU]
Wai‘anapanapa Wayside Park (10) MM 32
Hana Town & Bay (6)
Kaihalulu (Red Sand) Beach (5)
Beyond Hana & Returning to Upcountry Maui
Mile Markers reverse (end of Highway 31) starting with MM 51
Haneo‘o Road MM 51,50
Koki Beach & ‘Alau Island (7) MM 51,50
Hamoa Beach (10)MM 51,50
Waioka Pond (Venus Pool) [KAPU]
Ala‘alaula Falls (4)
Paihi Falls (5)
Wailua Stream (2)
Wailua Falls (10) MM 44.7
‘Ohe‘o Gulch (7 Sacred Pools) & Kipahulu MM 42
Kuloa Point Trail (9) MM 42
Kahakai Trail (4) MM 42
Pipiwai Trail (8) MM 42
Makahiku & Waimoku Falls (8 & 10 respectively) MM 42
Charles Lindbergh’s Grave (4) MM 41
** Beyond here, the road gets very rough until reaching the Kanaio area (some miles from the winery). **
South Kipahulu, Mokulau, & Kaupo
Kipahulu Coastline (5)
Kukui ‘ula Falls (4)
Alelele Trail & Falls (5 - seasonal)
Mokulau & Kaupo Store (5)
Kaupo Gap Lookout (6)
Pokowai Sea Arch (5) MM 29
Manawainui Gulch (6)
Upcountry and the Haleakala Highway
Tedeschi Winery & Ranch Store (5)
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park (6)
Keokea area - First gas station since Hana - Ching's store
Enchanting Floral Gardens (5)
Highway 378 (Crater Road) Turn off the upper road (Kekaulike Hwy)
Kula Botanical Gardens (6)
Polipoli Springs State Park