Ohe’o Gulch

This part of Haleakala National Park is great for hiking. If you went up to the crater your pass is good here.
It is the last stop on the road to Hana at mile marker 42. So it is a long drive to get there so plan accordingly. That means getting there early enough to hike and get back out if you are not staying in Hana.
We did the Pipiwai Trail which eventually takes you through the Bamboo Forest and up to the falls.

GORGEOUS!!! Absolutely stunning! Easy to find this location with the park signs. Since we were military we did not pay the entrance fee ($ 15 I think), but it is so worth it! We had a mixed agility and aged group, but thankfully there were a few options to see the pools. They ranged from 2 miles to 800 meters, so naturally we opted for the 800 meters and my mom with bad knees had no issues!
The views are breathtaking and there were several people who were swimming. It did look refreshing, but we simply did not have time. Totally worth scoping out! A road to Hana MUST see!

I guess the pools aren’t always open to swimming and I would sure be mad if I went through the entire road to Hana only to get here and have the pools closed. But they were open when I went, and they were amazing. Slick black rock, deep pools of icy water, where you can swim or climb right into a waterfall and let its beautiful power rain over your body. The contrast of green foliage and black rock is magazine-​worthy. I felt like I fulfilled a childhood dream here.

Okay views, satisfactory last stop for Road to Hana. It’s a 0.5 miles roundtrip walk to see the pools that flow into the ocean. I don’t know how people jump into the pools, because it seems pretty well fenced off. It looks like a far jump too, so I would not recommend it it at all. Also, when we went, the pools were pretty muddy. Anyway, if you’re coming by, I would suggest taking a look; otherwise, it’s not really worth going too far for. Worth a stop, but don’t go out of your way to visit it.

While driving on the Road to Hana, this is a fantastic last stop. After a very short, easy hike, you make it to the Seven Pools. It was incredibly windy when we were there, but was still a really beautiful site. There are several pools to swim and jump in with a small waterfall at the top. It was quite crowded when we went. I highly recommend this as your last stop on your journey!

Please be careful here! Many people swim in these pools, which are in a remote area. I jumped into one of the pools and dislocated my collar bone because of the way I hit the surface of the water. The ranger said many, many people get injured here. I rode an ambulance to get to the nearest clinic which is in Hana (the drive from the pools to Hana is about 35 minutes on a windy, narrow road). The doctor at the clinic said they have about one death per month at the pools. Enjoy looking at the pools but don’t jump into them! Some people hit rocks, some people hit the bottom, some people slip. Then once we left the Hana clinic, we still had a 3 hour drive on the Hana Highway to get us back to where we were staying in Kihei.

On the extreme far southeastern side of Maui, far from the tourist towns of Wailea, Kihei, and Lahaina is the Ohe’o gulch. Some publicist thought it would generate more tourist dollars by renaming it the Seven Pools Sacred Springs.
Reaching Seven Pools is a monumental task, and has caused it share of nervous breakdowns. I drove nearly 3 hours the entire length of the road to Hana, with its 600+ hairpin curves, 54 one lane bridges, and then another 5 mile stretch of 10 mph, lane and a half, blind curved roads along the south eastern shores of Maui. A good portion of the time with locals in a big pickups inevitably pushing me right on my behind!
Ohe’o gulch is located in Haleakala National Park, which has a $ 10 admission fee,. I get in with a lifetime national park pass, available for all 62 year olds. Hey we only have some many good years left!
There is a visitor center with bathrooms, and parking spaces for about 160 vehicles. However the drinking fountains and sinks are shut down today, so we have to buy a bottle of water for our 4 mile round trip hike up the Pipiwai Trail next door.
A lot people swim in the Ohe’o Gulch, after hiking the 4 mile Pipiwai trail next door –don’t want to stink up the car with body odor for the 3 hour trip back to Wailea!
The place is full of lush vegetation, waterfalls spilling over freshwater pools, leading down a crevice to the sea. Here is where the Haleakala crater meets the Pacific ocean, and it is a sight to tell your grandkids!
Today the water is a bit murky, and the banks of the pool muddy, as the water level is not as high as during the peak of the rainy season. Only a handful of swimmers, with bone chilling afternoon high winds blowing from the ocean.
We do the half mile circular hike around the ancient ruins nearby, while the small excursion buses dump load after load of tourists nearby. Young ladies in bikinis and flip flops, while others in shorts and red leather flats, with cameras, smart phones, or tablets clicking away pictures of paradise.
We spend 3 hours hiking the Pipiwai trail, and another hour eating lunch and viewing the sights and people at seven pools, before driving the return harrowing 3 hour trip back to Hana and the reverse road to Hana, to Wailea. I tell the wife, that I drive this route once per marriage –once for my first marriage, and now once for the second marriage!