Nakalele Blowhole

Nakalele Point is the northern most place on Maui. You'll find the point, along with it's famous blowhole at about mile 38.5 on hwy 30 past Kapalua. There's a dirt parking area and you'll see several trails leading off towards the ocean.

The hike to the blowhole is about a 1/4 mile long and decends 200 feet down to the ocean. We suggest you first walk to one of the overlooks and see if the blowhole is blowing. You can get some good pictures from there if you don't feel like walking down. The trail down involves some scrambling over loose dirt and rock, so be careful.

The Nakalele Blowhole was formed after the ocean eroded away the underlying material and left the harder lava shelf protruding over the ocean. After the hole formed, wave action causes water to shoot through and into the air. When the tide is high and the surf is pounding, the blowhole can shoot 30 or more feet into the air. At other times not much happens at all.

It's really a great show, but a word of caution. It may seem tempting to get as close as you can to the blowhole for that great photo, but stay back! People have been killed when they get pulled into the hole by the retreating water.

Here's a short video of the blowhole on a good day. By the way these folks are probably a little to close to the action.