This trail is beautiful! The beginning of it sucks, but the views are gorgeous. You can see the mountains and the ocean in the distance. There is a parking lot that fits about 25 cars. I got there around 11a and got a spot. The trail is a little over 2 miles each way! Took me a little over 2 hours! It’s was a fun hike but I didn’t think the views at the top were as good as some of the others throughout the trail.

This trail is beautiful and strenuous. The concrete area at the beginning will kick your butt but well worth to experience the amazing views at the top. We are in good shape and it took us 1 hr and 15 min (stopping for pics) to go up (2 miles). As far as going down will take about an hour. Hiking shoes and poles recommend. Have done twice and one time extremely muddy and today trail was dry but nice having poles coming down. Top parking lot fills up early but there is overflow parking about 8/10 of a mile from the top. Go early and do not go if it has rained unless you have good hiking shoes!

Great hike-but definitely challenging. Parking tip! Get there early, but if the main lot is full, it pays to wait around as there was pretty regular turnover when we were there. There is a parking lot right when you pull off the road, but that is only for overflow parking. You save close to a mile if you drive up to the real parking lot and you'll appreciate the savings when you are hiking. If people say they can do it in two hours total they must be in very good shape. It took us a good hour and a half to two hours to go about 3/4 quarters of the way-to a ridge covered in trees where we had lunch. The top of the ridge was covered with clouds so we didn't go up the final stretch. Great views almost from the start so you don't really need to hike all the way to the top.

I don't have a ton to add from other reviews. We went early and walked a mile and a half of it in then turned back. At that point we were in a cloud and didn't have great visibility, otherwise we would have kept going. We are in good shape and didn't find the hike to be technically difficult but the surface is clay and it gets wet and slick, we both slipped once on the way down. There are a few narrow gates you have to go through (I think to keep cattle off the path... but they could be challenging for larger people I think. The views were fantastic, and the path is well maintained, even just hiking a mile of it I think would be worth it and you'd minimize risk of falling.

Oh dear lord my butt!!! Ya’ll, this was my husbands “one must do” while on this trip so I wore my big girl panties and did it but I should have worn padded panties. My husband is 6’5” and I’m of the Lizzo Fabulous variety. We are not in great hiking form but we figured we would just take it slow and be fine. Sure, we did it…. In 5 hours…. And yea we got great pictures but it’s 6 days later and ouch. Going up, no problem. Beautiful!!! 9/10. Would recommend. (Clouds took away that one point). We made it to the top and the clouds cleared for about 10 seconds for a picture to the right. Going down, dear lord have mercy. People warned us as they were coming down but we just thought our “take it slow” motto would prevail. I saw others slipping and several handprints in the trail. Every single time one of us went to say, “ this part is ok” the mud would take one of our feet and make a liar out of us. So humbling. Now, there were people RUNNING past us. There were people doing it in flip flops. Children doing it. It was clearly an “us problem” but we were not prepared. Poles are a must(we did not have poles but wish we did). If it’s raining…. Just no. In fact, it wasn’t raining…. Just constantly wet from clouds rolling in. My favorite part… the cows at the entrance.

We arrived in the morning - which I recommend both to secure a parking spot as well as to start before it gets too hot. This is a beautiful hike in the medium difficulty category. It’s strenuous but not overly difficult for those in relatively fit condition. I’m in my late 50’s, my wife is four years younger, and our 14 year old daughter was with us. We were tired by the time we reached the little observation platform at the end but after a 15 to 20 minute rest easily handled the return descent. I strongly advise that you bring one water bottle per person- you will need to stay hydrated- as well as a pair of good hiking boots or at least walking shoes with ankle support. Mind you I saw some people in bikinis and flip flops, but I put that down to the folly of youth. This hike affords spectacular views and it’s worth going the full two miles to the end.

On the day we went there were a couple of rainy showers, couple of people turned back due to rain but our group stayed huddled under trees until the rain lightened up after about 15 minutes. Even on a somewhat foggy and overcast day, the view at the viewpoint was spectacular. Steep strenuous start, and after than moderate uphill, however our group turned back after the viewpoint and didn't get to the top. It was amazing to be at the top of the west maui mountains. As others noted, limited parking at the top parking lot, need to arrive before 9am on a Sunday to secure parking. Looked like there was an overflow dirt lot further down, which may add 40 mins to the initial uphill trek. Grazing cows at the beginning (fenced). 2 portable toilets at parking lot (no tissue).