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Hiking the Lahaina Windmills (Pali Trail) on Maui

If you’ve been to Maui, you’ve most definitely seen the iconic windmills that loom over the West Side of Maui. These beautiful and functional machines are amazing to see from afar…but even cooler up close! That’s right, you can hike right up to them (and be warned: you might get that skyscraper-vertigo feeling when you look up!!).

This hike is such a fine time, but make sure you’re prepared. The majority of the hike is fully exposed, meaning there is almost no shade anywhere on the trail. We generally recommend starting early in the morning for a more pleasant hike, but if you’re up for it physically, it can always be fun to get a good sweat by hiking midday. Be sure to bring AMPLE water on this hike, and possibly some small snacks to refuel when you reach the top.

The hike is roughly five miles, and there are two options when doing this trail. The first is the “out-and-back” hike. On this hike, you’d park at the lot found directly after the Lahaina tunnel, and then hike up to the windmills, take a quick photo and snack break, then hike back the way you just came from. This is a little more practical than our second option. For another version of the hike, you’ll need two cars, one at the trailhead before the tunnel, and another at the trailhead after the tunnel. For this hike, you would go all the way across, passing by the windmills, and descending on the opposite side. This can be fun, but we recommend the single-car option as an easier and more practical choice.

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