South Sugar Beach

On the north end of Kihei (side closest to the airport) is a long stretch of beach known as Sugar Beach. Remains of an old harbor can be seen here leftover from the heyday of Maui’s sugar industry. This beach runs from about the entrance into South Kihei Road and stretches several miles to Ma`alaea Harbor. In the winter this stretch of beach is where humpback whales gather to give birth in these shallow and warm waters.

It’s highly likely you’ll see some splashing around offshore on this walk during the winter months. The mornings are calm and perfect for a beach walk but the wind can pick up to amazing strength in the afternoon. When the ocean swells are just right Ma’alaea has a surf break known for being one of the fastest moving sets of waves in Hawai’i. It’s a lot of fun to watch the locals walk out on the break wall and jump in with their surf and boogie boards right into the breaking waves.