There is space to park at both Maalaea and Ukumehame (the two trailheads) and both are (more or less) at sea level, so regardless of which way you do this hike you'll need to gain about 1600ft of altitude in 2.5 miles, and descend the same amount. The trail is rocky, and the angle is pretty steep so those headline figures might not sound crazy, but it's harder than it sounds! Add in baking sun and you've got a recipe for a tough hike.

From either trailhead head up onto Kealaloloa Ridge (which can be spotted from much of southern Maui because of the Kaheawa wind farm which sits on it) and take in the massive ocean panorama. You might get lucky when on the Ukumehame side of the ridge and catch a glimpse of whales if you're doing the hike in whale season (November to May), and you also have a good chance year-round of seeing native birds like pueo and néné.

This part of Maui is exceptionally dry, so expect a tough hike with big views, excellent fauna spotting and a lot of sunshine!