Located around milemarker 38.5 in northwestern Maui, the Nakalele Blowhole is a unique landmark along the coastline. Created from a hole in a shelf of lava rock, in ideal conditions the blowhole can send blasts of whitewater spray 70 feet into the air!
A large parking area gives away the location, and while most visitors tend to make the short walk to the edge of the bluffs or just below onto the lava stone, it is possible to walk the slick trail about 1,200 feet in total from the parking area down the wash to get nearer to the blowhole. Depending on tidal conditions, the blowhole can range from next to no activity to large sprays and bursts of whitewater. Higher tides and swells from the north make for the best conditions to see more explosive activity.
Visitors should expect a rugged coastline here with an adjacent trail through the "Acid War Zone" lava rock formations. There are also no guardrails or protections aside from common sense to keep people from wandering right up to the hole. It should be stressed that the blowhole can shoot with no warning, and there have been multiple deaths over the years from people getting too close to the hole and slipping in the wet conditions on the rocks around it, so make sure to maintain a safe distance.
The Nakalele Blowhole, though on an isolated part of Maui, can make for a hypnotizing and impressive scene, with bursts of spray and loud roars from the waves on the lava shelf every few seconds during the right tides. It is also a good place to start exploring a uniquely strange and otherworldly landscape of lava formations and erosion on the island.
There are no amenities in this area.
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