Waipoli Rd Bike Climb - PJAMM Cycling

13.8
FIETS
12.7 mi
DISTANCE
5,357 ft
GAINED
7.9 %
AVG. GRADE

FULL CLIMB STATS

Page Contributor(s): Ray Gurzynski, Washington, USA Ron Hawks, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

INTRO

Waipoli Road is one of hardest climbs in the United States (#9 US / #76 World).  The first seven miles to Waipoli Road are unimpressive (well, comparatively at 5.7%), but kick up to one of the greatest US climbs over the past six miles at 10.5% through a fantastic and fun set of tight hairpins. 
Waipoli's average grade is 7.8% (8.3% if we remove the descent from the first half of the climb).  54% (6.8 miles) are at 5-10% grade, 23% (2.9 miles) are at 10-15%, 3% (0.4 miles) 15-20% and a sliver of 0.5% (0.1 miles) are ≥20%.  The steepest quarter-mile is 18.5% and the steepest one continuous mile averages 13.1%. 

See more details and tools regarding this climb's grade via the “Profile Tool” button.
Roadway:  The first four miles on Pulehu Road are on a two-lane road with no shoulder.  Next we are on Highway 37 for 2.6 miles of smooth roadway with a shoulder to ride in.  The final six miles are on a nicely paved very narrow two lane road without a center stripe or shoulder.

Traffic:  Light on Pulehu Road, Moderate on Highway 37 and minimal on Waipoli Road. 

Parking:  Near the start - MapStreet View. 
Provisions:  There are no provisions directly on the route, although there is Morihara Store by going off course a bit at mile 5.4 onto Copp Road to Lower Kula Road - Map Street View

Gear:  My only suggestion is to bring proper gearing for your bike - this climb hits 20% and that's a whole different ball game. 
Before heading out on any cycling adventure check out our Things to Bring on a Cycling Trip and use our interactive check list to ensure you don't forget anything.
Maui is an amazing place to climb by bike.  For starters, on the Waipoli climb - consider bringing a gravel bike and riding up the backside of Volcano Haleakala by gravel bike - that climb begins at the finish of the Waipoli climb (see Full Summary for more information).  Also be sure to ride up Haleakala and consider riding The Road to Hana which is the best way to see the sites along that ride. 

ROUTE MAP

MEMBER RATING

Not Yet Rated
-
Road
-
Traffic
-
Scenery

CURRENT WEATHER

PJAMM TRIPS ADVENTURE STARTER BUNDLES

Check out PJAMM Adventure's prepackaged (self-guided) cycling trips. They will help you plan, document and conquer your next adventure.
ALL TRIPS
Browse all of our prepackaged trips and find your next adventure!
Hawaii: Haleakala
United States (HI)
14 ROUTES
30 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
191.7
mi
DISTANCE
30,558
ft
ELEV. GAIN
Hawaii: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa
United States (HI)
11 ROUTES
38 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
300.4
mi
DISTANCE
46,184
ft
ELEV. GAIN
Kauai
United States (HI)
13 ROUTES
10 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
98.3
mi
DISTANCE
24,063
ft
ELEV. GAIN
Oahu
United States (HI)
7 ROUTES
11 POIs
ROUTE STATS (TOTAL)
19.2
mi
DISTANCE
7,073
ft
ELEV. GAIN

NEARBY CLIMBS (0) RADIAL PROXIMITY

FROM
No Climbs Found

MEMBER REVIEWS & COMMENTS

Let us know what you thought of this climb. Signup for our FREE membership to write a review or post a comment.
Already have an account?
ROUTE MAP
PROFILE TOOL
Route Data
S.G. (%)
hide
Segment Data
hide

Climb Profile Not Found
CLIMB SUMMARY

Bicycle climb of Waipoli Road - cyclist and bike sign at start of Waipoli Rd

Cycling Waipoli Road - a US Top 10 and very steep climb.

Ride 12.7 miles gaining 5,504’ to elevation 6,382’ at 7.9% average grade.

Climb summary by PJAMM’s John Johnson.

Waipoli Road[1] is one of hardest climbs in Hawaii and the U.S.  This monster is on the U.S. Top 10 bike climbs list which includes Mauna Kea, Haleakala, Mauna Loa, and Kaloko Dr. It also makes the list of World Top 100 cycle climbs.  Waipoli and Haleakala make up the two Top Ten U.S. climbs on Maui. Both are a must if you are cycling Hawaii!    PJAMM climbed Waipoli May 13, 2018.  Brad continued on past the finish of Waipoli up Skyline Trail to Haleakala Summit and recommends this challenging route - but on a gravel/adventure bike with large tires.

The first 6.5 miles of this climb are very shallow with 2.8% average grade, while miles 6.5 to 19.4 are an 8.5% average grade, and miles 13.7 to 18.4 are at 10.3% with 19 switchbacks (Strava segment).  

Cycling up Pulehu Road on way to Waipoli Road

   First 11 miles are on Pulehu Road

On the surface, the climb to the summit of Waipoli Road seems like every other Hawaii climb.  We start near sea level in windy, hot and humid conditions and work our way up to cooler temps.   What makes this climb tougher than the statistics show is the exposure to the elements including wind and heat with no shade, and the steep rollers in the middle of the climb.  

     

   Right on Waipoli Road at mile 12.5

  Cycling Waipoli Road - hairpins

 21 Switchbacks on Waipoli Road

Once we enter the final third of this brute, the grades are steeper and tougher than any other climb in Hawaii save for the 4.7 miles just after the Mauna Kea Visitor Center.

Cyclists climbing steep section of Waipoli Road by bike.

Last 5.2 miles = 2,900’ at 9.8%

Parasailing - Waipoli Road, Maui, Hawaii   

Model Airplanes at Waipoli parasailing and model airplane location on Waipoli Road.

Wiaopoli Air Force

Model Airplanes at Waipoli parasailing and model airplane location on Waipoli Road.

Climb Summary by Ron Hawks:

The climb starts at Hansen and Pulehu road.  The beginning section of the road is rough and the traffic is heavy even on a weekday mid-morning.  The only shoulder on this route is the short section on Kula Hwy (37) before you get to Waipoli road.  Enjoy the first 4 miles as the grade is shallow, but the heat and wind increase the difficulty rating along this stretch. At mile 7, we are faced with a fork in the road - stay right and continue on Pulehu Road. Do not go left on Omaopio Road.   We now enter a neighborhood that provides a very brief respite from the elements and we soon begin our first real Waipoli test which involves riding over steep rollers approaching 15% , a la Mauna Loa Observatory Road.  Be careful here and don't try to hammer these section - although they are short, there are several of them that will sap energy needed for the final ascent up Waipoli road.

Once we hit Kula Hwy (37) around mile 11, we have a two mile section with a nice mild 5-7% grade.  Here, we catch our breath, flush out the lactic acid and brace for the beast waiting up the volcano. See elevation graph below - those purple to black sections at the end tell the horror story of Waipoli Rd!  After passing Harold Rice Park on our left, we turn left onto Lower Kula road for a short ride to Waipoli Road on our right.

At first glance, the Waipoli entry looks quite steep, and it is!  Although we’d love to reassure you that this is the worst of it, we can’t. Once over the initial wall that hits 18% (or we hit it?), we continue straight up (almost literally!) the road and are too quickly greeted with one of the toughest ½ mile stretches we have ever ridden!  Along this portion we are confronted with broken pavement (not too tough to negotiate at 4 mph!) and painfully steep sections that approach if not exceed 20%.  We  traversed the road in search of adequate pavement, all the while trying to keep the front wheel on the ground - no small feat at this grade - all the while attempting to keep sufficient forward progress to remain upright.

Once through the initial killer-steep section we catch our breath for about a quarter mile before hitting another wall - we nicknamed this road “Wallipoli” for a reason!  Blessedly, the final 4+ miles are over a peaceful single-lane road, although the grade continues to be wickedly steep. Well, hey, that’s how you get into the Top 10 Most Difficult Climbs in the U.S., I suppose.  The steepest sections are at the switchbacks. If there were only one or two, okay, but 19? Are you kidding me?!  We normally cut the inside of the switchbacks, but Waipoli is no normal climb - we suggest staying wide on these and bringing a compact chainring, a 32t cassette, and oxygen, and....    We saw 20% on the Garmin and felt 25% in the legs.  There were a few brief moments when we were going downhill, well 5% rise felt down at that point, and these were inevitably followed by another “Wallapoli”.  

In addition to this very nice grade (are we sick, or what?), the scenery is gorgeous, when we are not doing a laser stare deep into the pavement and we are not surrounded by clouds - we look northwest to incredibly beautiful views of Maui along this climb. Pull over and soak in and photograph these views - or, at least that’s a great excuse for stopping (err . . . resting).  Climbers note - stop on one of the few milder sections as it is very difficult to get going again on the normal grade we experience on this one.

Due to the rain/mist and cooler temperatures in this final section, the landscape is thick and lush with cooler temps - Hawaiian Tropic, for sure.  Unlike many of the European switchback experiences, the 19 switchbacks we navigate are not viewable from above as the landscape is so dense.  The only evidence of the roadway above as we ascended was the top of the occasional car we spied coming down along the roadway above.  

After making it through the 19 switchbacks, we finish with a straight ½ mile stretch that ends at a small parking area where the pavement ends.  This is a very tough climb with the final 5+ miles averaging over 11% with several pitches at or just above 20%.  Be prepared before you go and use every shallow section to recover as the last section of this climb offers zero grade relief.  As for the descent, it can be very cold so at least bring your jacket.  When descending the steep sections of Waipoli road, be careful as there are a lot of blind turns and the thick landscape hides vehicles that we don’t see, until we are on top of them.

Have fun - it is a True Top 10 U.S./Top 100 World. Enjoy an incredible and unique and oft scenic climb in Hawaii - it WILL test you!

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/6309.Haleakala-Backside 

That’s a wrap!!


[1] See Route to Haleakala Summit from Waipoli at bottom of Waipoli Climb Page.

Access to full Climb Summary requires a PJAMM Cycling PRO Membership!

It takes less than a minute to sign up & with your PRO membership you can:
  • Rate climbs, post comments and share your experiences on any of our climb pages
  • Create bucket lists of climbs & mark the dates you complete them
  • Weather data for all climbs - Start & Finish
  • Upload photos to your member page to customize your PJAMM Cycling experience
  • Utilize all of our interactive tools - Profile & Routes in Area
  • Download climb route .gpx files
LEARN MORE
SIGN UP

Already have an account? LOG IN HERE