After my final exams of my sophomore year in college, I decided to take a trip to Maui to visit my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins that live there. Since we didn’t have a spring break due to covid, this little vacation was much needed.

Before I went to Maui, I researched a bunch of hikes I could do on AllTrails, and the Waihe’e Ridge Trail (pronounced “why-hay-hay”) was the top one on my bucket list! There were pictures of the views at the top and you could see the ocean extend to the horizon. So I was super excited when my family said they wanted to take me hiking there!

We hiked the Waihe’e Ridge Trail on a Saturday morning, and arrived around 10:30 or 11am. It felt weird leaving so late in the day for a hike because in Arizona, normally you’d want to be done with your hike at that time because it gets so hot out! Nevertheless, the weather was perfect for this hike. When we arrived, we had to wait about 30 minutes for a spot in the top parking lot because we didn’t want to add an extra steep half mile to the already 4 mile hike we had ahead of us. Luckily there was a cute horse next to us as we waited!

Finally, people were coming down from the trail, and spots started to open up. However, a car passed us and took our spot! So we had to wait a little bit longer for a spot.

Once we parked, we put on some sunscreen then started our trek up the mountain! The hike started off with a super steep incline on pavement but then leveled out after a few hundred feet. After the steep incline, we were hiking through the trees, and since it was so humid it felt and looked like we were in the middle of the rain forest!

The hike to the top of the mountain was about 2 miles. I didn’t find it particularly hard but it was pretty steep. The ground was wet and muddy so at times it was difficult to keep my footing. But luckily I had my hiking boots with me! It was my first time wearing them, surprisingly I didn’t get any blisters. But they had great ankle support and were super helpful. I also used my hydration backpack I’d recently purchased from Amazon! Normally, I’m holding my Hydroflask in one hand and my phone in the other, which makes it difficult to hike especially if I need to use my hands. But since I had this backpack, it was much easier to hike because my hands were free! I definitely recommend getting one!

Hiking up the mountain, there were many opportunities to stop and admire the view. It kept getting better the higher we climbed! Naturally, I was taking pictures at all of the stops. We even saw a waterfall in the distance from one of the corners of the trail.

At one point, we passed a dad teaching his two kids how to make a bow and arrow from the fallen tree branches!

As we neared the top, the trail turned into zig-zag switch backs, and every time we rounded one of the corners, I thought we were about to reach the top. But nope! We still had more to climb. Once we reached the top, all we could see were clouds! Unfortunately we didn’t have much of a view, but as we headed back down the mountain we left the clouds, and we were able to see the ocean again.

Personally, I enjoyed the hike up the mountain more than the way down just because I love the challenge. But my little cousins liked the way down better because they could run and skip just about the whole way!

After our hike, we were all starving so we stopped at Cafe O’Lea at the Mill House nearby where I tried fish and chips for the first time! Normally, I don’t like fish. But for some reason on this trip I ordered fish every chance I had. I guess since it was super fresh I thought that if I’m going to try it, there’s no better place. After this trip, I definitely consider myself a seafood person, but I wouldn’t have been caught dead saying that before!

If you get the chance to go to Maui, the Waihe’e Ridge Trail should definitely be on your to-do list since it shows off incredible views of the island and is a very enjoyable hike!