ALOHA!
The Waianapanapa Coastal Trail is a hiking trail in Hana located off of the Hana Highway.
This is one of the best hikes on the Road to Hana!
Which also means it’s one of the best things to do in Hana!
It extends for a few miles, but you don’t need to do the whole trail in order to see the amazing views!
The Waianapanapa Coastal Trail is located in Waianapanapa State Park.
Waianapanapa State Park is among the most popular state parks on Maui.
It’s home to THE famous black sand beach of Maui.
And while the black sand beach is the main reason the people visit, there is some great Maui hiking that you can do alongside a visit to the beach!
The hiking trail that you can access from the black sand beach is the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail.
This is also called the Piilani Trail, and it’s also called the Ke Ala Loa O Maui Trail. This is all the same.
This is a grand coastal hike across Maui lava fields.
The hiking trail is nearly entirely along the coast line!
This means grand ocean views as you are hiking!
You will also see a number of unique rock formations along the way.
Side note!
Here are some popular activities you need to know about to get some very-Hawaii experiences! Read the reviews on the partner websites listed below!
🐢 You can swim with turtles on Maui!
Read the reviews for the molokini and turtle town tour on viator and the turtle town kayak and snorkel tour.
🌺 Eat Hawaiian food at a luau with a fire show! Have a look at the Maui Nui Luau
🐳 Winter means it's WHALE WATCHING season in Hawaii! And Maui is the best Hawaiian island for whale watching! 🐳
Read the reviews for the whale watching by raft tour and the whale watching catamaran tour.
🐠 If you're going snorkeling (or to the beach!), here are things you must consider packing for Hawaii!
You can find these things on Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate.
- Swimsuit or swimming shirt aka rash guard
- rash guard: swim set for women and swim shirt for men
- Water shoes
- Waterproof phone case (so you can capture pictures of fishies underwater!)
- cheapo phone case OR waterproof camera
- I also have this "camera" wrist float to attach to my cheapo waterproof phone case so my phone won't sink to the bottom of the ocean in case I somehow let go of it. (Mine does stay afloat - test this for yourself before completely trusting it!)
- Swimming goggles or snorkeling mask set
- Reef-safe(r) sunscreen
- lightweight travel towel
- walking sandals perfect for Hawaii
- teva is a popular outdoor shoe brand
- teva sandals for women
- teva sandals for men
I also don't go snorkeling in Hawaii without a personal swim float buoy. Not only does it help to keep me visible, but it makes for a perfect way to rest out in deeper water! Oh, and it also serves as a dry bag so I can take stuff into the water with me.
Another way I have taken valuables into the water with me is to wear a travel money belt that I don't mind getting wet with salt water (it's not waterproof but I have several so I just use one of them) and then I put things in a ziplock freezer bag, and put that freezer bag in the money belt.
There are also designated waterproof waist pouches that you can store your valuables and take into the water with you.
How to save money on your trip
I tend to use booking.com or hotels.com to look for the cheapest hotels. You can also try the expedia hotels site (good for car rentals too) or see if you like any of the vrbo vacation rentals.
Search for the cheapest car rentals at the Maui airport.
/end side note
📌 Pin this post for later! Save on Pinterest! 👈📌
Looking at the black sand beach as the main area of the state park, the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail extends in both directions of the coastline.
There is the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail to the north towards the Hana Airport, and it also goes to the south towards Hana Bay.
Below will be focused on hiking the first part of the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail to the north.
It also goes to the south, and that is the side of the Waianapanapa State Park cabins.
Now that Hawaii state parks has the Waianapanapa State Park reservation system in which you must reserve a time slot for visiting, it makes knowing what you want to do once you’re there a bit more important!
As of spring 2021, the reservation is based on 2.5 to 3 hour time slots.
If you will be happy with making your trip to Waianapanapa State Park mostly about the black sand beach only, then you can be fine with just 2 hours no problem.
But if you have plans to hike even just a part of the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail that comes with grand ocean views, then that’s when the amount of time you have can start to matter more!
If you only want to do a part of the trail, it’s also possible that you’ll be more than fine with 2 hours. It can still be worthy to even hike just part of this trail, which you can do with 2 hours of time at Waianapanapa State Park.
Below will give you an idea of how long it takes to hike to certain points along the trail so you can judge the possible time it takes a little better!
The times listed are based on how long I personally took to get to each spot.
This of course means it might be different for you!
You might be quicker, or it might take you longer!
You may spend more time taking in the views in a certain spot, etc etc! I was generally going at a leisurely pace.
I also stopped often to take pictures.
The official hiking trail info for the Piilani Trail to Hana Airport
The Waianapanapa Coastal Trail’s official name is Ke Ala Loa O Maui Trail or Piilani Trail.
According to google translate, “Ke Ala Loa O Maui” means “the best road of Maui” in the Hawaiian language.
The trail sign you will see off to the left side of the black sand beach. 👇
Pictures below from hiking in Waianapanapa State Park!
🌋🌴
Hiking the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail to the north
Hiking to the north means that you will start at the black sand beach.
From the parking lot, you’ll follow the signs to the black sand beach.
Or first, you can walk the Pailoa Bay overlook trail to take in more ocean views! (Or save this for the end when you have a better judge of time.)
So heading towards the black sand beach, you’ll first come across the black sand beach overlook.
Take in the views of Pailoa Bay!
You’ll also be able to see the trail that you’ll be hiking.
👆 You will be hiking along the coastline there.
Then after you’ve taken in the views from above, you can take the stairs down to the black sand beach!
Once you get down to sea level, off to the right side of the beach as you are facing the ocean, there’s the black sand beach lava tube.
Take a walk through that!
Then you can get up close and personal with the black sand beach!
When you’re ready, you can walk all the way across the black sand beach to the left side.
You’ll see a trail. That’s the trail you want to take!
👆 The start of the trail from the black sand beach.
And from here, we’ll start the trail timings!
Starting point from the black sand beach will be 0 minutes.
The times noted below are how long it takes to hike there ONE WAY. (Or, around how long it took me to get there anyway.)
So you’ll want to double the time to account for the time it’ll take to get back.
Maybe you’ll be quicker on the way back since you won’t stop so often to take in the views.
Or maybe you’ll take longer on the way back because you’re more tired.
Hiking time: 0-5 minutes one way
Hiking time: 5-10 minutes one way
Hiking time: 10-15+ minutes
And then hiking further along in this section of Waianapanapa Coastal Trail is where you can find another black sand beach. Or maybe it’s a black rock beach. From far away it looks more like a black rock beach, but it also looks like there might be some black sand hiding beneath the rocks! Either way, another beach!
👆 It does look like there’s some sort sort of trail directly behind this beach if you want to go down to it.
And… back to the famous black sand beach!
And finally… TAKE CARE! Sea cliffs can be dangerous! All it takes is one mis-step for a great experience to turn BAD!
And that’s a bit of what you can see with 30-45 minutes of hiking the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail!
If you will be giving yourself 2+ hours in Waianapanapa State Park, you may be interested in hiking across lava fields all the way to the Hana Airport!
Hiking from the black sand beach to the Hana Airport along the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail took me around 1.5 hours one way. See pictures of hiking to Hana Airport!
More for your trip to Hana! Post-hike food in Hana?!
Or buy the famous Road to Hana banana bread on your way to Waianapanapa State Park!
Plus see the big list of stops on the Road to Hana!
Plus, if you are interested in the Waianapanapa Coastal Trail, you may also be interested in these top activities on Maui:
- Waihee Ridge Trail
- How to spend one day in the West Maui mountains
- Kapalua Coastal Trail
- Hoapili Trail (more Maui lava fields!)
- Pipiwai Trail
HAPPY HIKING IN WAIANAPANAPA STATE PARK!
👇 Explore the Road to Hana map on google maps!
See the list:
- Road to Hana stops (for views!)
- Things to do on Maui (for views!)
- Things to do in Haleakala National Park
- Things to do on Lanai
There are affiliate links on this page. Among other partners, as an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from this.
Top things to pack for your Hawaii vacation!
The ultimate beach towel for travel?!
Turkish towels are considered to be more absorbent and lightweight than your average beach towel. Be sure to check out turkish towels like these!The cheapo way to waterproof your phone
You can take underwater pictures with a simple waterproof phone case like this. Touch screen may not work well underwater - try the volume button to snap the pic instead!Get your suitcase more organized!
Packing cubes can make it so you're spending less time on your vacation looking for things! They are basically a form of drawers in your suitcase. Take a look at these packing cubes.Wear less sunscreen by wearing a UPF swim shirt!
Wearing a swim shirt means less skin that's exposed to the sun which means less sunscreen you need to apply! See about wearing swim shirts with UV protection like these when you're snorkeling.More for your Maui packing list
- How a cheapo waterproof phone case works
- Why wear water shoes for the beach
- Why a personal swim buoy is an essential for snorkeling and swimming in the ocean
- Essentials to pack for Maui
- Best shoes for Maui