Walking the Wailea Beach Path: A Kihei Guest's Guide

Not as one continuous shoreline walk. The coast between Kamaole and Wailea includes residential frontage and the long sand of Keawakapu Beach, with no single connected sidewalk the whole way. You can walk south along the Kamaole beaches and Keawakapu, but to reach the paved Wailea Beach Path itself, the simplest plan is a short 10-minute drive from The Hale Pau Hana to a Wailea beach lot, then walk the boardwalk from there. The boardwalk is the flat, scenic stretch most visitors picture when they ask about walking in Wailea.

The paved path runs about 1.3 miles one way, roughly from the Ulua and Mokapu beaches at the north end to Polo Beach and Wailea Point at the south end. Walking it out and back is about 2.6 miles and takes most people around an hour at an easy pace, more if you stop at the beaches, benches, and overlooks. Because it is flat and paved the whole way, the distance feels gentle, and you can turn around at any point and still get a complete coastal walk.

Yes. In Hawaii the shoreline is public, and the Wailea Beach Path, along with all the beaches it connects, is open to everyone at no charge. Each beach has a marked public-access route and a free public parking lot, even though the path runs in front of private resorts. Please respect the resort property next to the route, stay on the public path and sand, and keep the beach access lots clear. The walk itself costs nothing.

Use one of the free public beach lots at Ulua and Mokapu, Wailea Beach, or Polo Beach, each marked with blue shoreline-access signs off Wailea Alanui Drive. The Polo Beach lot at the south end is usually the quietest, and the central Wailea Beach lot is the busiest. All of them fill by mid-morning in winter and on weekends, so arrive early or aim for the golden hour before sunset. From The Hale Pau Hana the lots are about 3 to 4 miles south, a 10 to 12-minute drive.

In season, regularly. From late November through early May, humpback whales gather in the channel off South Maui, and the rocky points along the boardwalk, especially around Wailea Point, make natural lookouts over the water. A winter walk often comes with blows, tail slaps, and the occasional breach offshore, no boat required. Mornings are calmest, when the water is glassy and blows are easiest to spot. The same whales are visible from the Kamaole sand and the HPH lanais, covered in the whale watching from Kihei guide.

Yes, it is one of the better sunset strolls in South Maui. The whole Wailea coast faces west toward Lanai and Kahoolawe, so the boardwalk has open water on the horizon, and the Polo Beach and Wailea Point end frames the sun cleanly over the channel. Arrive 30 to 45 minutes before sunset for the golden hour, when the light goes warm and the path is at its prettiest. Kihei has its own strong west-facing options too, ranked in sunset spots in Kihei, several of them steps from HPH.

The Wailea path is a paved, continuous boardwalk through polished resort scenery, ideal for a structured out-and-back stroll. Walking in Kihei means soft sand along the Kamaole beaches right in front of The Hale Pau Hana, with no drive and a more casual, local feel. Neither is better overall; they suit different moods. Many guests walk the Kamaole sand most mornings and drive to Wailea once or twice for the boardwalk and a change of scene. The trade is a 10-minute drive and busier parking against the convenience of starting from your lanai.

Yes, the main boardwalk is. It is paved and flat for its full 1.3 miles, with gentle grades over the rocky points and no stairs along the through route, so strollers and slow walkers manage it easily. The branch paths down to the individual beaches can be steeper and end in sand, so soft beach access is the only tricky part. There is little shade along the route, so bring water, sunscreen, and a hat, and plan around the cooler morning or late-afternoon hours with young kids.