"Death Highway in Maui" Kahekili Hwy 340

Way back in 2003 I traveled out to Maui for College spring break. I rented a road bike and planned a 70+ mile loop tour starting in Kahului along highway 30 and then to highway 340. Back then I remember looking at my road map (GPS wasn't around) on highway 340 and it said "if you have a rental car don't drive on this road because you won't be insured". That was the only warning I ever saw or read about this highway stretch. Being an ever so bold and wise 21 year old I told myself "ah what the hell I have a bike. I'll be fine". By the time I got highway 340 the sun was setting and I had no headlamp. I figured there would be street lights on the highway (there were virtually none). I remember the road getting more and more narrow. I remember seeing fewer and fewer and then no cars. I even recall seeing wooden debris on the road. For a split second I considered turning back and riding all the way back highway 30 but then I reasoned "this is only 20 miles and I just road 50. I got this." So then came the winding switch backs and steep hills. At one point I started descending down a steep decline and I was accelerating too fast. I ended up taking a crash where my backpack fortunately took most of the impact. My MP3 player that was attached to my bike shorts also got crushed. I remember feeling my fingers and toes and looking up into the starry tropical sky and praising God I didn't break anything. No one would of found me for at least a day if not longer on that crazy road. I was just bruised and scraped. The handle bar on my bicycle was bent but not too badly. I had some energy drinks in my backpack which I guzzled down. I then started walking my bicycle and I later road the rest of the way. It was a combination of fear, adrenaline, caffeine, determination and excitement of being on an adventure that kept me going. I then made it to what I thought was Waihee Waihee village. First sign of housing in miles. I remember being relieved to see a street lamp because I needed light to see my road map. I stopped and the locals noticed a stranger on the highway. A few adults walked out of a nearby house and stared at me. They were probably all thinking "what the hell is this crazy haole kid doing???" One then asked me "hey kid what are you up to?" I just casually replied "oh I''m just reading my map". I was on a public highway after all. But they didn't see much traffic let alone people on bicycles come around at night time around there before. I then made it to the outskirts of Kahului. After getting in brief altercation with a rude gas station attendant (I needed bandages and some pain killer i.e. vodka) I made it back to my hotel safe and sound. I had quite a spring break story to tell.

This road makes Hana highway look like a cakewalk. I just did Hana highway in the pouring rain yesterday too.

Did that road yesterday, will never do that again. I’m an experienced driver with a CDL. Made it through ok but had to back out numerous times to allow vehicles to pass around. There are no signs warning you of the oncoming one lane road again on blind curves. That should be a one way road!! Great video since I did not even have a chance to talk pictures once committed to the road.

I just did this drive last week to get to the airport to evacuate from the fires and cut our vacation short. Friends and family didn’t believe me when I said this was one of the most exciting and scary drives of my life Thank you for this visual. I would do it again but not with children under 15 in the car.

About twenty years ago, I was using my Maui timeshare. One night, I was in Kaanapali and there was an accident blocking my return to Kihei. One of the locals advised me to take the northern route through the mountains. It turned out to be the most PITCH DARK terrifying drive of my life. My family was screaming at times in terror. At some points, the road is so narrow, you are driving extremely close to sheer rock. Other times it is very steep, often cliffside to the ocean. Sometimes it is one way, without warning. (I don't recall signage warning) Ironically, I got through at the same time the southern Kihei road block cleared. Terrible choices were understandable during the Lahina disaster that just occurred! Most comments here were day drives. I hope this YouTube comment save some lives.

Just drove this road on our last day in Maui last week and I had forgotten to use the dash cam for my drive! Thanks for uploading this so I can share with my friends!

I followed Google Maps, took a left to save "5 minutes ". Scariest drive of my life! Google should consider a warning at least lol

I will never drive this way again. Life is wonderful, but not this way 😢

My wife and drove the northern road out of Kahului just about exactly one year ago in our rental minivan. The road surface was fine. It did get narrow in places and then even narrower. The worst spots were just barely one vehicle wide but you can usually see a ways ahead and check for oncoming traffic (very little traffic!) before proceeding. Exciting stuff!

I never want to drive there again

If it wasn't for those super tight one lane areas i feel like i would do this drive but the sheer thought of running into another car on a tight stretch with a cliff and no guard rail sounds like an absolute nightmare

last week sept 11th 2022, driving an 8-seater Chevy Suburban i accidently stumbled into Highway 340 !!! scariest ever drive of my life, with 8 lives in my hand and not knowing what the next turn will bring. I could feel the anxiety & stress attack multiple times. Took 4 hours to drive through! what a drive – Please, please prepare and plan before you go – offered special pray of thanks after the drive 😊 My advice: - – select small 4-wheel drive car, avoid SUVs & Suburban - drive slowly, remember drive is the fun and driving & sight seeing is the goal / destiny. Use a dash cam with front and inside camera, you won’t be able to take pictures or vides. Kim, thanks for posting this video, as we did not use the camera at all 🙂!

Just did it going the opposite way. Stumbled into it blindly, my fault. From now on I will always ask rental car folks if there are dangerous/scary roads to avoid. This road would have for sure been mentioned. Truly have never driven on something like this. Two miles of the road was one way. Entirely one way….of course cars going both directions. Fallen rocks (big) along the way. When I was driving it was pouring down rain and had mud and debris flowing in various directions the whole way. It’s not flat either. If you are scared of heights or just don’t want to play with your life, please avoid this road. The other way around this side of the island is pleasant. This road is no shortcut. Thanks for making this video, just wish I had seen it a week ago.

I drove this road because google maps told me so and damn I was scared but excited .. then did the road to Hana and laughed at how easy of a drive that was

I drove this road last week and it made the backroad drive from Hana seem like nothing after driving over roads that seemed more like bike paths. It was beautiful drive but definitely requires nerves of steel and concentration

Geez! I’ve been to Maui 3 times and going a fourth time this july 2022. I thought to myself why haven’t I been on the northern end of Maui, and I should make highway 340 one of my tours. Thank god I watched this video.

We drove this route this afternoon (5/7/23) in a clockwise direction, which is the only way to do it if you’re acrophobic like me. It seemed like a nice little adventure, despite a fair amount of traffic going counterclockwise; however, it would have been scary to have to pass on the cliff side on some of those narrow-as-hell and steep stretches.

Did this road a week ago in our rental jeep and as a guy of course it was the highlight of the trip to Hawaii for me !

You took the easy route 😂. We drove it the other direction going to the north. Yeah that was a nightmare! 😂

Great video music and edit