If you live on the northshore of Maui and like to walk your dog, ride a bike, or perambulate or jog for exercise, it can be a challenge to find a good safe place. The intrepid (and perhaps foolish) souls go right along busy Hana Highway (too many walking dangerously WITH traffic, instead of the safer AGAINST traffic).

Others find Holomua Road the perfect solution. Just around the corner and east about a quarter of a mile past Mama’s Fish House, Holomua is the first right turn heading mauka. Tucked between the cane fields off Hana Highway, you quickly leave the hustle and bustle and noises of traffic behind. Trees reach in and over from each side of the road forming a long green archway, providing a serene invitation to follow the gentle but steady incline.

Holomua eventually reaches the site of the Old Maui High School–its columned archways a reminder of school days long past. Many use this site as a resting point or as a turnaround landmark, before heading back downhill to complete their trek. The sight of the beautiful blue ocean is a fitting reward at the end.

If you’re looking for a more serene workout scene than crowded fitness centers or high-traffic surroundings, there are many out-of-the-way roads like Holomua across the island that will fill the bill. The pace and the duration are completley up to you. Bring a friend. Enjoy a calmer Maui. Get out there and enjoy.

Keep it quiet. Keep it peaceful. Keep it Maui.

– Haole Anna, Paia