Parking
Use public parking at D.T. Fleming Beach Park or Kapalua Village Center to reach Mahana Ridge. The arboretum has no vehicle access and is reached on foot.
Overview
About Banyan Loop
Why go
- A compact route through a varied tree collection.
Heads up
- The strenuous Mahana Ridge approach is over 20 miles round trip.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the West Maui Scenic Drive map
Full mapElevation1,211–1,391 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide
Your drive to Banyan Loop, 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- Honolua Bay: Forest and Reef
- Kapalua Village: The Cardio Loop
- Mokulēʻia Bay: The Beach Below the Cliffs
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Banyan Loop
The loop and the commitmentBanyan Loop is the green circuit through Maunalei Arboretum, separate from the half-mile Lower…
Banyan Loop is the green circuit through Maunalei Arboretum, separate from the half-mile Lower Arboretum Loop. The connected mapped line is about 0.76 mile, including a short shared stretch of the Honolua Ridge path to reach and leave the circuit; the resort trail map lists it as one mile. Allow about 45 minutes for the arboretum walk and stops. The arboretum trails are described as easy to moderate, but getting there is the hard part: access from public starting points is a strenuous 20-plus-mile round trip on Mahana Ridge. That approach is not included in this record’s distance or time.
Reaching the arboretumReach the grove on foot via Mahana Ridge from public access at D.T.
Reach the grove on foot via Mahana Ridge from public access at D.T. Fleming Beach Park or Kapalua Village Center; vehicles do not reach the arboretum. Carry enough water and nutrition for the long outing, watch for hazardous weather, and finish by sunset. Dogs are not allowed.
The tree collectionHonolua Ranch plantation manager D.T.
Honolua Ranch plantation manager D.T. Fleming created the arboretum and collected plant species during his travels. Look for Hawaiian maile and ʻāmau fern among introduced trees, with a Sugi Pine Grove marked in the arboretum. A banyan tree is described on a short side path in the grove, but available route information does not confirm whether it sits on the green circuit itself; treat it as a nearby detour, not a guaranteed stop.
Wildlife
Wildlife in West Maui Scenic Drive
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.
