The Original Haleakala Downhill Bike Ride - Group Tour

Haleakala Sightseeing Bike Ride

The tour begins when you meet us in the town of Paia on the North Shore of Maui. The hippy/surf town of Paia has every modern convenience Maui has to offer.

From Paia we will drive directly up the route we will be coming down on the bicycles. During the drive up you get to see the roadways you will be biking down. We also have some tour anecdotes, humor and fun facts about Maui we like to talk about.

Heading up Baldwin avenue, the first paved road on Maui, it is hard to imagine that over 100 years ago more than 10,000 people lived in and around this now deserted area. We pass through a small town by the name of Makawao that has a rich history of cattle ranching, then through some beautiful pasture land, and then about 30 minutes later we pass through upcountry area of Kula.

From the residential area of Kula, the drive continues into the 29,000 acre Haleakala Ranch. The ranch is completely open for cattle to roam wherever they please. The road is actually a federal highway and is paved to perfection with cambered corners that make the ride down fun and easy. Altogether the van ride is well under an hour to get the starting point of the actual bike ride.

We provide all of the necessary clothing for this ride in case you did not bring it with you. If you do have your own rain gear or jacket, you are more than welcome to bring it along, although layers are usually not necessary. We do ask that you wear close-toed shoes for the ride.

We will begin our bike ride outside of Haleakala National Park around 6,500 feet above sea level. We start just above where the other bike tours get started, and we ride the most miles in the business (25 miles). We will make plenty of stops to take pictures.

The first part of the tour is gliding down Crater Road through the timeless Haleakala Ranch. This ranch is more than 130 years old and is comprised of over 29,000 acres with more than 2,000 head of black and red angus. The ranch is an incredible sight, green pasture land as far as the eye can see with bi-coastal views of Maui’s Central Valley, which is actually an isthmus created over many millennia from erosion of the two gigantic volcanoes that created Maui.

Riding 25 miles might sound like a hard feat to accomplish but our bikes and gravity do all of the work for you. Altogether we only do about 500 yards of uphill pedaling on our entire 25 mile bike route. It is a very thrilling, and at the same time, relaxing and enjoyable bike ride. You do not have to be in great shape to do this but you must be able to ride a bike well and not be a novice rider.

After biking through the open cattle ranch, some small mountain communities and other local farm land, we end up in a cute little town by the name of Makawao. Here we take a short break, roughly 30 minutes, so you will have a chance to explore this very unique town. Makawao is far from the beaten path and the large crowds of West and South Maui. Makawao is Maui’s cowboy town, a close 2nd to Paia when it comes to being the coolest little town on Maui. There is rich history in Makawao from its days as a true cattle ranch town. If the local bakery (Komoda Bakery) is open and not sold out we will treat you to a “Maui famous” donut on a stick.

From Makawao we ride all the way down historic Baldwin Avenue (Maui’s first paved road) into the town of Paia, ending your ultimate downhill bike ride exactly where you parked your car. And sometimes we elect to stop at a church on the last leg of the tour for some additional sightseeing, depending on the group and the flow of the tour.