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Līpoa Point in West Maui Scenic Drive

Sight · West Maui Scenic Drive

Līpoa Point

A cultural headland above Honolua Bay; check access before going.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.8 mi
Audio stories
9 nearby
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Honolua Lookout: The Bay from Above

Overview

About Līpoa Point

Why stop

  • Broad views over Honolua Bay
  • A significant Hawaiian cultural landscape

Heads up

  • Public access route and legal parking remain unverified
  • Reported approaches are rough and shoreline paths uneven

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightLīpoa Point21.02351, -156.64082
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Plan your stop

Before you go

Check access before you go

The map pin marks the cape, not a confirmed public trailhead. I couldn't verify a designated public route or legal parking from Honoapiʻilani Highway. DLNR’s Nā Ala Hele guidance says to use only listed official trails, so check its current trail list before planning a walk and don't follow unmarked tracks. Sources describe rough dirt access and uneven shore paths, but they disagree on route length. From a lawful vantage point, keep some of the rocky point in the foreground to show its shape against the bay.

1 active West Maui Scenic Drive alert

  • CautionWest Maui daytime lane closures on Routes 30 and 340, Oct. 26–30Expect daytime single-lane closures on Route 30 near Honokōhau and Route 340 between Waiehu and Waiheʻe on scheduled weekdays Oct. 26–30; follow traffic control and allow for alternating traffic.Official details
West Maui Scenic Drive alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide

Your drive to Līpoa Point, narrated.

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 tour

Recorded for this area

Honolua Lookout: The Bay from Above
0:00 / 0:26
“Honolua Bay Scenic Lookout is coming up, with a view down into the blue cove and its wooded cliffs. Choose this for a brief look at the bay without walking down to the shore.”

Plays on the road 0.8 mi from Līpoa Point in the Parkwolf West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Honolua Bay: Forest and Reef
  • Mokulēʻia Bay: The Beach Below the Cliffs
  • Punalau Beach: Watch the Windmills Surf
  • D.T. Fleming: Beach, Burgers and Ridge Walk
  • 65 audio storiesacross West Maui Scenic Drive’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Humpback Whale, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Spinner Dolphin, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 28 trails, 54 places, and audio download before you lose signal
  • CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
★★★★★
“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!!!!”
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Guide

More about Līpoa Point

A headland above Honolua BayLīpoa Point, which DLNR identifies as Kulaokaʻeʻa, is the rocky cape on the north side of…

Līpoa Point, which DLNR identifies as Kulaokaʻeʻa, is the rocky cape on the north side of Honolua Bay. Its draw is the broad bay-and-ocean view, with natural arches and tidepools along the shore. It is a natural headland, not a developed overlook.

A cultural landscapeThe protected land around the bay holds two heiau, house platforms, burial mounds, agricultural…

The protected land around the bay holds two heiau, house platforms, burial mounds, agricultural terraces, and stones with grinding surfaces. Hawaiʻi acquired the property in 2014 after a community campaign to stop development. If you can access the area legally, stay on the permitted route and leave the cultural sites undisturbed.

Honolua and HōkūleʻaHonolua Bay has a long relationship with surfing and voyaging.

Honolua Bay has a long relationship with surfing and voyaging. It was the departure point for the voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa’s maiden voyage in 1976, connecting this coast to a story much larger than a scenic stop.

coastculturehistorysurfviews

Wildlife

Wildlife in West Maui Scenic Drive

All West Maui Scenic Drive wildlife maps
Humpback Whale152 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 9 AMSighting mapHawaiian Monk Seal71 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSpinner Dolphin23 sightingsSpinner DolphinMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapGreen Sea Turtle401 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapHawksbill Sea Turtle14 sightingsHawksbill Sea TurtleMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapWedge-tailed Shearwater92 sightingsWedge-tailed ShearwaterMost seen around 6 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across West Maui Scenic Drive. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Līpoa Point

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

EasyHonolua Bay Access Trail0.8 mi · 24 min · 0.8 mi awayA shaded forest walk to a rocky, protected bay.ModeratePine Loop6.3 mi · 4 hr · 1.5 mi awayA short Cook pine circuit is a long climb up Mahana Ridge.ModerateMahana Ridge Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayA reservoir turnaround makes this rough ridge climb manageable.EasyDragon’s Teeth Trail0.7 mi · 30 min · 1.7 mi awayA short coastal walk to jagged lava fins at Makaluapuna Point.ModerateKapalua Village Cardio Loop1.3 mi · 54 min · 2 mi awayA hilly circuit through forest reclaimed from the old golf course.ModerateKapalua Coastal Trail3.5 mi · 2 hr · 2.4 mi awayA paved bay walk that turns rugged at Hāwea Point.ModeratePineapple Loop0.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayA short pineapple side loop with a long uphill approach.ModerateAcid War Zone Trail1.3 mi · 1.5 hr · 3 mi awayA rough coastal path to a lighthouse beacon and blowhole.

More stops nearby

Beach · 0.6 mi awayHonolua BayForest walk, coral-rich reef, and slippery rocky entry.Scenic pullout · 0.7 mi awayHonolua Bay Scenic LookoutBlue water and green cliffs, seen from a quick roadside pull-off.Beach · 0.9 mi awayMokulēʻia Bay (Slaughterhouse Beach)A cliff-framed cove where the surf decides the day.Beach · 1 mi awayPunalau BeachA rugged shore for walks and surf watching, not swimming.Beach · 1.5 mi awayD.T. Fleming Beach ParkIronwood shade, white sand, and winter surf on Honokahua Bay.Sight · 1.5 mi awayDragon’s TeethTooth-shaped lava fins rise above a rough, wave-washed shore.Scenic pullout · 1.6 mi awayHonokōhau Bay LookoutA quick view of the curved bay and red-brown coastal cliffs.Beach · 1.8 mi awayOneloa BeachA quiet quarter-mile beach on the Kapalua Coastal Trail.

Parkwolf’s West Maui Scenic Drive ranking

Top sights in West Maui Scenic Drive

All 54 places
  1. 1Nākālele BlowholeSight
  2. 2Honolua BayBeach
  3. 3Kapalua Bay BeachBeach
  4. 4Kāʻanapali BeachBeach
  5. 5ʻĪao Valley State MonumentSight
  6. 6Kahakuloa HeadSight

Take Parkwolf to West Maui Scenic Drive.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

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