Kīpahulu · MM 42 · Rt 31
ʻOheʻo Gulch: beautiful, closed to swimming, still worth it.
About the name, about the closure, and about why you should go anyway.
- Marker
- MM 42 · Rt 31 (Kīpahulu)
- Fee
- NP $30/car · card only
- Swimming
- CLOSED — view only
- Walk
- Kuloa Point loop ~0.5 mi
- Pass
- 3 days · both districts
Listen to this guide
About that name
Two truths up front: there aren’t seven pools, and they were never “sacred” — the name was a mid-century marketing flourish that stuck. The real name is ʻOheʻo Gulch, a string of tiered pools where the stream meets the ocean inside Haleakalā National Park’s Kīpahulu District. Use the real name in Hana and watch the reception warm.
Why swimming is closed
The pools are closed to swimming — view them from the Kuloa Point loop instead. The reason is written in the geology: this gulch drains a mountain, and flash floods can raise the water four feet in ten minutes. People have died here learning that in real time. The closure isn’t bureaucracy. It’s the sign version of a lifeguard.
And honestly? The view from the loop — pools stepping down lava terraces into open ocean — is the postcard anyway. The half-mile walk is easy, the overlooks earn their keep.
Make the trip count
You’re already inside the park, and the $30 pass covers both districts for three days — so pair ʻOheʻo with the Pipiwai Trail from the same parking lot, and you’ve turned the far end of the road into the best two hours of your day. Check the Kīpahulu Visitor Center for conditions, and remember: this is a living community, not a theme park exit.
Keep planning
- All 16 stops in order →
- The timed 1-day plan →
- Pipiwai Trail & Bamboo Forest →
- Waiʻanapanapa Black Sand Beach →
- Guide: Haleakalā Same-Day →
Written and shot on the route by Shane Perry, Maui resident.
Straight answers
Take this stop with you.
The Glovebox Copy has every stop, marker, and fee — printable, signal-proof, free.