Paia - The Last Big Stop Before the Curves

A stop on Maui: The Road to Hana, a free self-guided tour.

Your trip begins in Paia, a small town of wooden storefronts where the Hana Highway meets Baldwin Avenue at the town's single stoplight. It looks laid-back now, but Paia was built on sugar. Alexander and Baldwin, the partners behind one of Hawaii's great sugar companies, set up a plantation and mill here in the 1880s, and workers came from China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Puerto Rico and Portugal. In the 1930s the town held more than 10,000 people, about a fifth of Maui's population.

When plantation housing moved to Kahului in the 1950s, Paia emptied out. Surfers and back-to-the-land settlers arrived in the 1970s, then windsurfers discovered the steady trade winds nearby, and the town reinvented itself. The old Paia sugar mill finally closed in 2000.

This is your chance to prepare. Fill the gas tank, pick up picnic food and water, and use the restroom. Then take a breath and settle in: the next miles reward a slow, patient driver.

Getting here: From Kahului, follow Hana Highway (Route 36) east about 7 miles into Paia. Park in the public lot near the center of town.

Did you know?: Paia is often called the windsurfing capital of the world because of the famous wave and wind spots just down the road.

Photo op: Stand at the corner of Hana Highway and Baldwin Avenue and frame the row of brightly painted plantation-era storefronts.

Nearby: Gas stations, grocery and general stores, cafes and restaurants. Fill up here, since fuel is scarce until Hana.

More on Wikipedia: Pa?ia, Hawaii · Alexander & Baldwin · Hana Highway

Paia - The Last Big Stop Before the Curves

Stops on this tour