Sight · West Maui Scenic Drive
A working dock with Lahaina’s whaling history behind it.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for West Maui Scenic Drive. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the West Maui Scenic Drive audio tourRecorded for this place
Lāhainā Waterfront: The Banyan and the Capital“You’re coming up on Lāhainā’s historic waterfront, with the famous banyan near the harbor end of Front Street.”
Plays as you drive up to Lāhainā Small Boat Harbor in the Parkwolf West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Lāhainā Small Boat Harbor is the working marina on Lahaina’s waterfront and a departure point for licensed ocean trips, including seasonal whale watching when operators offer it. Book with an operator and follow the check-in instructions in your reservation: passenger access is arranged through staff, and there is no booking counter here. Don’t plan on a casual walk along the working docks.
Lahaina served as the Hawaiian Kingdom’s capital from 1820 to 1845. Whaling ships began arriving in Hawaiʻi in 1819, and the town’s anchorage and fresh provisions made it an important stop. The present small-boat harbor was dredged in 1955 near the waterfront site of Old Lahaina Fort.
Kamehameha III commissioned a small, whale-oil lighthouse for Lahaina; it was first lit in 1840. Later versions rose to 55 feet by 1905, making the harbor-side light a reminder of the port’s long tie to shipping. Treat the lighthouse and nearby historic sites as separate stops: harbor access doesn’t guarantee access to them.
Wildlife
152 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
71 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
23 sightingsSpinner DolphinMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
401 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
14 sightingsHawksbill Sea TurtleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
92 sightingsWedge-tailed ShearwaterMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across West Maui Scenic Drive. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateLauniupoko Valley Trail3.2 mi · 2 hr · 3 mi awayA reservoir and old stone walls lead into a steep valley.
EasyKāʻanapali Beach Walk5.3 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.6 mi awayAn easy coastal walk links two public parks by Black Rock.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayLāhainā Banyan TreeOne banyan spreads into a grove of trunks and hanging roots.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayMaria Lanakila Catholic ChurchA surviving 1870s church with a tall, unmistakable bell tower.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayPioneer Mill SmokestackA 225-foot reminder of Lahaina’s sugar era, best seen roadside.
Beach · 0.9 mi awayLāhainā Baby Beach (Puʻunoa Beach)A reef-framed lagoon, with coral and rocks underfoot.
Restaurant · 1.1 mi awayOld Lāhainā LūʻauA sunset lūʻau with Hawaiian storytelling, hula and a full dinner.
Beach · 2.2 mi awayWahikuli Wayside ParkA shaded oceanfront picnic stop where turtles often surface.
Beach · 2.6 mi awayLauniupoko Beach ParkShaded lawns, an ocean pool, and a livelier reef break.
Beach · 2.8 mi awayHanakaʻōʻō Beach ParkA picnic beach with canoe-club life at Kāʻanapali's south end.Parkwolf’s West Maui Scenic Drive ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
