13 Crossings Trail Maui

Park here.

Go there.

13 Crossings, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…Actually, while I would say 13 Crossings aka Makamakaole Trail is nice, it isn’t any more interesting than some of the other ‘wet’ hikes around Maui. In fact, if you do like ‘wet’ hikes, the kind of hike you’re going to get wet on, then 13 Crossings is about as easy as they come. (At least until the very end when you have to climb up one waterfall to get to the next. And even then you can climb more ropes and apparently go on and on and on…) The easiness of this trail – 3 miles out and back – makes it less interesting than some other hikes, particularly the wet hikes found along the Road to Hana which often offer ocean views. 13 Crossings offers no such view and the waterfall scenery is tame for a fellow such as myself coming from Oregon. The waterfalls are nice, sure, but that’s all they are. Nice. The pools of water up this way are cool, which is a nice respite from the easy bake oven that is Kihei so it’s not like this hike is without its plusses. Oh, and the trail does have a section of small bamboo forestry which, you guess it, is nice. If there is anything else to note, it’s worth mentioning that if you come to a large boulder

Nice.

forking the stream into left and right paths, go right. You can still go left and you will still be taken to a waterfall and swimming hole, but it’s not the one every other blogger talks about. Actually, it’s a little curious that no one else mentions this fact. Maybe they’ve got better trail instincts as I always seem to find myself going left when I should be going to the right. I’m sure that means something deeper than I am willing to think about.

Wrong waterfall.

Picturesque. That's why I took a picture.

Directions: Go about 1.5 miles past mile maker 6 on Hwy 340; mile marker 7 is MIA. Look for a hole in a fence on the mountain side of the road just before the road takes a sharp bend. Go through the hole and almost immediately begin your first stream crossing.