Makena, HI

Mākena is a census-designated place at the southwest corner of Maui, south of Wailea and reached from the north by Mākena Road. The road runs between the Pacific and the lower slopes of Haleakalā, continuing toward Keoneʻōʻio, commonly called La Perouse Bay. Mākena State Park and the ʻĀhihi-Kīnaʻu Natural Area Reserve give the south end of the island a landscape defined by beaches, lava, nearshore water, and state-managed conservation areas.

ATTRdronepicr / CC BY 2.0

There is an older cultural map under the modern road. South Maui planning histories describe Native Hawaiian families tending gardens and gathering fish, shellfish, and limu from wetlands, reefs, and fishponds. The Sea of Keoneʻōʻio carries its own history, and Mākena Landing later became a busy cattle and shipping point in the early twentieth century. The reserve, established as Hawaiʻi’s first Natural Area Reserve in 1973, protects native plants and archaeological complexes. The local scoop is a place where a narrow road leads through a layered south-Maui landscape—coastline, lava fields, protected areas, and long-standing Hawaiian history together.